Russia loses EU case to unblock 70 billion euros in sanctions

Russia's National Settlement Depository has lost a case to lift European Union sanctions imposed in connection with its role in financing the war. Bloomberg reports this with reference to a court decision, UNN reports .

Details

The depositary was sanctioned by the EU in 2022, when the bloc claimed that as the main custodian of Russian securities, the organization allowed the Russian government to mobilize its resources to support military operations.

NSD "failed to prove" that the EU "erred in concluding that this enterprise is a systemically important financial institution that plays a significant role in the functioning of the Russian financial system," the EU judges ruled.

According to one of the sources familiar with the situation, about 70 billion euros are currently frozen at Euroclear, the Belgian clearing house.

These assets are not currently being used to generate windfall profits, which are being transferred as financial support to Ukraine,, but this court decision may open the way for their use and creation of additional revenues in the future, as the EU did with the assets of the Russian central bank, the source added.

A representative of Euroclear confirmed that the contingency for Ukraine will be drawn from the assets of the Russian central bank starting February 15, 2024.

Euroclear has made the first payment of €1.55 billion to the Ukraine relief fund. The clearing house is holding €173 billion of sanctioned Russian assets, including frozen assets of its central bank.

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