Reuters: EU plans to transfer 3 billion euros of frozen Russian assets to Western investors
Belgian financial institution Euroclear, which holds most of the frozen Russian assets in Europe, plans to transfer about 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) of that money to Western investors as compensation for losses in Russia, Reuters reported, citing informed sources.
The indicated amount is part of approximately 10 billion euros belonging to sanctioned Russian individuals and legal entities and held in Euroclear accounts in Belgium.
The decision to use frozen Russian assets to compensate Western investors was a response to Russia's actions, which in 2023 confiscated billions of euros held in the country from foreign investors.
According to the agency's sources, in March 2025, Euroclear received permission from Belgium to make the payment, and on April 1, it notified clients of the upcoming payments.
At the same time, payments to Western investors will not affect more than 200 billion euros in Russian Central Bank reserves that were frozen in the EU, the agency's sources noted.
But such a step by the EU is a new stage of economic pressure on the Russian Federation, which has already filed about 100 lawsuits against Euroclear.
Russia has also responded with its own mirror sanctions. This year, it seized €3 billion belonging to Euroclear from accounts at the Russian depository.
Luxembourg's Clearstream, another large financial structure, is preparing a similar compensation scheme, but on a smaller scale – several hundred million euros.
- On February 4, 2025, the head of European diplomacy, Kaia Kallas, stated that European allies should "creatively" use Russian frozen assets to help Ukraine.
- On February 7, it was reported that Russia was preparing a law on the confiscation of foreign assets in response to the freezing of its own.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that Russia's assets should be seized while there is still an opportunity.
