Frozen Russian assets at Euroclear pass 200 bn euro mark
Russian assets frozen at Brussels-based securities firm Euroclear rose to 200 billion euros in the first quarter of 2026, according to financial results published on Friday. The assets (cash, shares, bonds and other instruments) were frozen following European sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Euroclear reinvests the frozen funds, which generated 1.13 billion euros in interest and dividends in the first quarter. That is about a quarter less than a year earlier, owing to lower interest rates. Part of the income is added back to the blocked account, which is why the total frozen amount continues to rise.
The bulk of the proceeds, however, goes to the European Union as an "excess profit contribution" to support Ukraine. Since February 2024, Euroclear has paid out 6.6 billion euros in this way, including 744 million euros in the first quarter alone.
Around 335 million euros from the Russian assets remained on Euroclear's balance sheet as operating profit at the start of 2026. Belgian taxes on that amount totalled 270 million euros, with the remaining 65 million euros set aside by Euroclear as a buffer for "current and future risks."
Legal challenges
That buffer is not without purpose. Euroclear is facing legal proceedings in Russian courts, where claimants are seeking payment of equivalent amounts in roubles. "The likelihood of unfavourable rulings in Russian courts is high, as Russia does not recognise the international sanctions," the company's report states.
Wealthy Russians are also attempting to free up their frozen assets by invoking old investment treaties of the Belgian-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU), De Tijd and L'Echo reported earlier this week. Although the BLEU has not concluded new bilateral investment treaties since 2010, investors can still bring claims under existing agreements.
Nine "notices of dispute" have already been filed against Belgium. The claims are based on the BLEU agreement with the Soviet Union, signed in 1989, and that with Kazakhstan, signed in 1998.The Russian oligarchs and investors are seeking arbitration – proceedings conducted outside ordinary courts, without public scrutiny and without professional magistrates as judges.
© BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
Related news
