Moscow files lawsuit against Euroclear as Russian assets debate continues
The Russian Central Bank said in a press release that it had sued Euroclear, the Belgian financial institution holding the vast majority of Europe's frozen assets, in a Moscow court on Dec. 12.
The bank also called the EU's reparations loan "illegal" and "contrary to international law" in a separate press release, also published on Dec. 12.
The move comes just ahead of a European Council summit where EU leaders could move ahead with a decision to unlock billions of euros in Russian assets to get critical financing to war-torn Ukraine.
Most scholars agree that the reparations loan is a well-crafted policy response to Ukraine's financing needs and Russia's continued aggression in Ukraine.
The Bank of Russia also said that it will proceed with "all available legal and other mechanisms" to challenge the reparations loan.
A legal memo from the prominent multinational law firm Covington & Burling, seen by the Kyiv Independent, states that litigation risk from the reparations loan is "minimal."
"In reality, it would be well-nigh impossible for Russia to persuade an international court or tribunal to find and exercise jurisdiction over such a claim," the document stated in reference to the proposed reparations loan.
