Euroclear issues caution of hazards if Russian assets confiscated

(MENAFN) Euroclear, the Belgian clearinghouse holding most of Russia's frozen assets, has raised concerns about potential liabilities if the European Union moves forward with confiscating these funds to aid Ukraine. The EU has frozen approximately €197 billion ($213 billion) of Russian central bank assets as part of sanctions related to the Ukraine conflict. These assets have generated €5.15 billion in interest this year.

Although the EU has allocated some of this interest to Ukraine, it has not yet seized the principal assets. This has led to Russian accusations of theft by the West. Euroclear CEO Valerie Urbain emphasized that if the assets are seized, the associated liabilities must be transferred as well to avoid future claims by Russia for the return of the securities. She warned that seizing the assets without transferring liabilities would create significant complications.

Euroclear recently made a payment of €1.55 billion ($1.63 billion) to the European Fund for Ukraine, using the interest generated from the frozen Russian assets. The EU also approved a €35 billion loan to Ukraine, which will be repaid with future revenues from these frozen funds. Meanwhile, the United States has transferred $20 billion to Ukraine, funded by the immobilized Russian assets.

Urbain cautioned that using Russia’s frozen assets in this manner could undermine the euro's role as a reserve currency and destabilize the EU’s finances. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has issued similar warnings. Despite these concerns, Ukraine continues to press for the use of these funds, with President Zelensky stating that $30 billion of the frozen assets could fully cover the cost of the country’s defense needs.

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