Belgian PM opposes confiscating Russian assets
Bart De Wever (Photo: REUTERS/Annegret Hilse)
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said on Aug. 26 he would rather keep frozen Russian assets in the Euroclear clearinghouse in Brussels than see them confiscated.
De Wever made the comments at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin. He warned that seizing the assets would pose serious legal challenges, suggesting the funds should remain merely frozen until substantive peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia take place.
“Most of these funds are blocked in Brussels at Euroclear,” De Wever said.
“I know there are governments trying to confiscate this money. But from a legal standpoint, it’s not that simple.”
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union, the G7, and Australia have frozen about $280 billion in Russian assets, including securities and cash—much of it held by Euroclear. Sky News reports Euroclear holds EUR183 billion ($213 billion) of roughly EUR300 billion ($349 billion) in Russian funds frozen by Western nations.
U.S. Treasury sanctions have additionally frozen about $58 billion in assets belonging to Russians elites, including luxury real estate, yachts, and private jets.
In February, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said there was no consensus among member states on whether to confiscate the frozen assets.
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