LONDON: The international Euroclear platform plans to seize about €3 billion in frozen Russian assets as compensation to Western investors ...
LONDON: The international Euroclear platform plans to seize about €3 billion in frozen Russian assets as compensation to Western investors whose funds were allegedly confiscated by Moscow, Reuters reported, citing a document in its possession and two sources.
The agency notes that the €3 billion in question is part of a larger €10 billion sum belonging to Russian companies and individuals who have been under EU sanctions since 2022. According to Reuters, this move became possible last year following amendments to the sanctions framework.
As Reuters reports, Euroclear notified clients of the forthcoming payments on April 1. "We received authorisation from our competent authority, to unfreeze the compensation amounts and make these available to our participants," the agency quotes the document as saying.
The European Union, Canada, the United States and Japan froze around $300 billion in Russian assets after the launch of the special military operation. Of that total, approximately $5-6 billion is held in the United States, while the lion’s share is located in Europe — including $210 billion at the Euroclear platform in Belgium.
In March, European Council President Antonio Costa admitted that the EU cannot unfreeze Russian assets, as the proceeds from their reinvestment act as collateral for military loans extended to Ukraine by the Group of Seven (G7).
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow would not renounce its rights to the frozen assets in the West and would continue to protect them.
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