Russian investors have signaled claims against the European depository Euroclear that together could total well over 200 billion rubles. This follows a private investor, Andrey Vidov, filing a claim for 91.5 million rubles. The aggregate value is still uncertain, as other plaintiffs have not disclosed exact amounts in their requests for the return of assets held by Euroclear.
Reports indicate that 13 separate cases have been brought before Russian courts against Euroclear, with two of those petitions framed as collective actions, illustrating a broad interest in retrieving funds tied to Euroclear’s custody services.
In parallel, another notable development concerns the status of these claims: while some individual requests specify a concrete sum, others remain vague about the precise amount sought by the claimant. This contributes to the overall ambiguity surrounding the total liability Euroclear faces in Russian proceedings.
Earlier, Belgium announced a policy review related to the unlocking of Euroclear assets. The Ministry of Finance there initially resisted measures to release those assets. The situation evolved later when officials granted permission to unlock certain coupons and dividends from the securities in question, following formal reviews by the national audit body and the highest administrative court. This sequence underscores the legal and administrative complexity involved in releasing assets held by Euroclear on behalf of Russian clients.
On a broader European scale, reporting from major news outlets highlighted the hesitation within the European Union to seize assets linked to Russia that are held through Euroclear. The concern centered on the potential reputational risk to the euro zone if significant Russian asset seizures were perceived as destabilizing, despite ongoing enforcement efforts by various authorities. The mood in these discussions suggests a cautious approach that weighs immediate enforcement against the stability of the euro and the credibility of financial institutions that manage cross-border assets.
Within the European Commission and other EU bodies, there has been ongoing dialogue about the status and treatment of Russian sovereign assets frozen in the EU. These conversations reflect the tension between punitive measures intended to respond to geopolitical events and the obligation to maintain orderly market operations and investor confidence across member states.