In what could prove a well-timed preemptive attack and shot across the bow, Russia’s Central Bank (CBR) announced Friday it has initiated legal action against Euroclear, one of Europe's largest securities depositories, which is holding 185 billion euros ($217 billion) of Russia’s frozen sovereign assets.
The CBR has filed a lawsuit against the Belgium-based bank in the Moscow Arbitration Court over "illegal actions" - just as European Union leadership is making a move to approve a plan to fund the Ukrainian government for the next years by using income from the Russian assets immobilized under EU sanctions.
"Euroclear’s actions caused harm to the Bank of Russia by preventing it from managing the funds and securities that belong to it," the Russian Central Bank said in the statement. The lawsuit seeks compensation for losses as a result of Euroclear indefinitely blocking access to the funds.
The RCB has also separately condemned wider EU plans to use Russian assets to aid Ukraine as "illegal, contrary to international law" as they violate "the principles of sovereign immunity of assets."
This is the first time in the entire frozen Russian asset saga that the bank has publicly commented on this issue. This lack of official condemnation until now is perhaps due to each side knowing greater tit-for-tat repercussions could unfold - or a point of no return could be reached if things unravel.
The European Central Bank has also long cautioned that if Europeans start grabbing other nations' money, it could undermine confidence in the euro currency. To review, the assets were frozen shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine:
In 2022, Western countries froze assets belonging to Russia’s central bank totaling about 260 billion euros. Most of these funds — roughly 190 billion euros — are held in accounts at the Belgian depository Euroclear. Euroclear earns profits from the frozen Russian assets, but in 2024, those proceeds were directed toward financing Ukraine. Over the past three years, European leaders have repeatedly discussed the possibility of confiscating Russia’s frozen assets.
Currently EU member states are rapidly advancing a plan ahead of a key summit next week. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is seeking to use a loophole to prevent a lone member or two from having an effective veto (especially Hungary), based on invoking emergency powers to sanction the frozen assets on a permanent basis, instead of holding the funds based on current six-month renewals, which requires unanimous agreement from all member states.
The plan would see €90 billion (roughly $104.71 billion) released over the next two years. Von der Leyen's scheme would allow for the plan to pass merely with a qualified majority, and so couldn't be derailed by just a lone veto. Nations like Germany and Spain have already signaled their support.
But Belgium fears immediate negative repercussions from Russia, which could deeply hurt its economy, and so wants guarantees ahead of any EU vote that all members would help absorb the impact. So with the Russian lawsuit, Moscow is sending its message to Belgium loud and clear.
BREAKING: "Belgium does not want a quick emergency law for Euroclear funds, no matter how hard the EU presses"->
— Pieter Cleppe (@pietercleppe) December 10, 2025
"European sources confirm to De Tijd that a plan to expedite the emergency law's approval exists, but that no date has yet been set for a vote. The reason? Belgium… pic.twitter.com/7h68AdrGWU
Von der Leyen has acknowledged the issue, posting on X: "Belgium’s particular situation regarding the use of the frozen Russian assets is undeniable and must be addressed in such a way that all European states bear the same risk." She added: "We agreed to continue our discussions with the aim of reaching a consensus at the European Council meeting on December 18."
The United States does not agree with these actions, and this will likely to give political strength to Belgium's objections to going along with EU leadership in the face of Russian legal pressures.
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