Euroclear Fights Immediate Enforcement of Moscow's $256 Billion Judgment for Bank of Russia
Euroclear has filed a complaint with the Moscow Arbitration Court against immediate enforcement of the ruling ordering it to pay 18.2 trillion rubles ($256 billion) to the Bank of Russia, TASS reported late Saturday, wit.
At a glance
- Euroclear filed a complaint with the Moscow Arbitration Court against immediate enforcement of the 18.2 trillion ruble ($256 billion) ruling
- Bank of Russia sued Euroclear in December 2025 over frozen funds, blocked securities and lost profits
- CBR filed a motion for immediate enforcement on May 20, 2026, which the court granted
- Euroclear says the claim is without merit and does not recognize the court's jurisdiction under EU law
- About €180 billion of the roughly €300 billion in frozen Russian assets is held at Euroclear
VERDICT — CONFIRMED
Euroclear has filed a complaint with the Moscow Arbitration Court against immediate enforcement of the ruling ordering it to pay 18.2 trillion rubles ($256 billion) to the Bank of Russia, TASS reported late Saturday, with the filing disclosed by a source who said the complaint 'was filed this week'; Interfax carried the same development as the news ran into Sunday. The Russian central bank sued the Brussels-based depository in December 2025, claiming damages for frozen funds, the value of blocked securities and lost profits after the EU immobilized Russian reserves; the Moscow court ruled in the CBR's favor in mid-May.
On May 20, the Bank of Russia filed a motion for immediate enforcement of the judgment, and the court granted it — the step Euroclear is now contesting. Euroclear has said the claim is without merit and that it does not recognize the Moscow court's jurisdiction, which it says is not recognized under EU law.
The EU and G7 have frozen roughly €300 billion of Russian sovereign assets, of which about €180 billion sits at Euroclear, and the judgment is widely read as Moscow's counter-lever against EU plans to channel the immobilized reserves to Ukraine. The CBR has said it will determine enforcement procedures 'after the court's decision enters into force.'
Why it matters
the legal war over frozen central-bank reserves is escalating into enforceable nine-figure judgments, raising the stakes for any Western move to confiscate or lend against Russia's immobilized assets.
Key facts on file
- Euroclear filed a complaint with the Moscow Arbitration Court against immediate enforcement of the 18.2 trillion ruble ($256 billion) ruling
- Bank of Russia sued Euroclear in December 2025 over frozen funds, blocked securities and lost profits
- CBR filed a motion for immediate enforcement on May 20, 2026, which the court granted
- Euroclear says the claim is without merit and does not recognize the court's jurisdiction under EU law
- About €180 billion of the roughly €300 billion in frozen Russian assets is held at Euroclear
