EU proposal to transfer Russian assets protects Euroclear from Moscow suits

This step is conceived as the initial stage in utilizing Russian state assets to support Ukraine, he explained at a European Policy Centre (EPC) event in Brussels.

"This is a new proposal, distinct from those rejected by the European Council last year. Under this framework, funds will not be immediately disbursed to Ukraine, but it will construct the necessary legal and financial architecture for the next phase," Dixon stated.

The mechanism consists of two foundational components designed to insulate Belgium from potential legal exposure and alleviate domestic political concerns over financial liability:

Shifting accounts to a single EU vehicle: All frozen accounts belonging to the Central Bank of Russia — held not only at Euroclear in Belgium, but also at Clearstream in Luxembourg and other financial institutions across France and the EU — would be transferred to the balance sheet of a dedicated EU vehicle acting as custodian. Both the assets and their underlying liabilities would be reallocated under the principle of changing depository, leaving formal Russian legal title intact for the interim.

Comprehensive legal and financial indemnification:The European Union will guarantee full legal and financial protection to clearing houses (including Euroclear and Clearstream) and the Belgian government against Russian retaliatory countermeasures or state asset seizures.

Dixon stressed that the initiative draws upon the legal precedent used to transfer and restructure Central Bank of Iraq accounts following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Furthermore, the design removes the requirement for individual EU member states to issue separate national guarantees — a contentious issue that previously stalled consensus. Because the legal obligations toward the Russian central bank would shift directly to the EU, Euroclear would not require emergency national liquidity backstops or bespoke bilateral state guarantees.

If ratified by the EU, the mechanism is designed to accommodate other international jurisdictions holding substantial Russian sovereign reserves, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan. Dixon noted that centralizing frozen Russian assets under EU custody could also provide European leadership with substantial diplomatic leverage in negotiations aimed at securing an enduring, just peace in Ukraine.

Moscow's Legal Offensive Against Euroclear

On May 15, the Moscow Arbitration Court ruled in a closed hearing to grant a claim filed by the Central Bank of Russia against Euroclear, where roughly €200 billion in Russian sovereign reserves have remained immobilized since 2022.

The lawsuit was originally registered in December 2025 for 18.17 trillion rubles (approximately $250 billion at current exchange rates, and roughly $230 billion at filing), representing nearly half of Russia's annual federal budget. The claim encompassed frozen cash balances, blocked securities, and alleged lost profits.

Euroclear formally declared that it does not recognize the legitimacy or jurisdiction of the Moscow court ruling, dismissing the enforceability of the judgment against the depository.