Doema will take legal action against Belgium and Euroclear if Russian assets are used

The European Commission is working on a plan to provide a recovery fund of about 140 billion euros to Ukraine based on the blocked cash of the Russian central bank, which is mainly held at Euroclear in Brussels. Belgium is very cautious about this due to the legal and financial risks and demands that these be borne by all member states. The Commission is trying to address these concerns and also assures that the plan does not equate to a confiscation of the assets.

However, the Russian parliament thinks differently. In a resolution adopted by the lower house on Thursday, the proposal is referred to as “an illegal seizure of property” that can be considered “outright theft.”
“Any attack on Russian assets must be met with the appropriate legal response, starting with demanding compensation from Euroclear and Belgium,” the text also states.

Furthermore, “assets of foreigners from hostile states should be able to be used as a source of compensation.” According to Reuters, Russia has seized tens of billions of dollars in assets from foreigners since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, including those from the Russian operations of Western companies such as the French food company Danone and the Danish brewer Carlsberg.