Euroclear starts paying compensation at the expense of Russian assets — Reuters

Belgian depository Euroclear plans to withdraw about € 3 billion of frozen Russian assets as compensation to Western investors in Russia, according to Reuters. Euroclear notified customers about the upcoming payments on April 1.

These € 3 billion, according to RBC, is part of the amount of € 10 billion owned by Russian companies and individuals who have been under European sanctions since 2022.

"We have received permission from the competent authority to unfreeze the compensation amounts and provide them to our participants," the depository said in a letter to customers, quoted by Reuters.

According to the publication, the seizure of frozen assets was a retaliatory step by Euroclear after the Russian authorities "approved the confiscation" of the property of Western investors in Russia. According to sources, the Belgian Treasury issued permission for payments to the depository back in March. The owners of the assets that will be seized, Reuters could not identify.

The decree on the procedure for compensation of damage caused to Russia and the Central Bank by unfriendly actions of the United States and other states was signed by President Vladimir Putin back in May 2024. The government commission on legislative activity approved a special procedure for compensation of damage in April 2025.

The European Union, Canada, the United States and Japan have frozen the assets of the Russian Central Bank in the amount of about $ 300 billion in securities and cash. Of these, about $ 5-6 billion are in the United States, and most of them are in Europe. The interlocutors of the publication clarify that payments to Western investors will not affect $ 210 billion of frozen Russian assets stored in Euroclear, but will significantly reduce "Russian wealth."