Moscow, 22 October. The Moscow District Commercial Court rejected the cassation appeal of the Belgian depository Euroclear and upheld a ruling ordering it to pay 18.2 trillion roubles under a claim by the Bank of Russia.
"To leave the decision (ruling) of the court of first instance and the ruling of the appeal court unchanged, and the cassation appeal unsatisfied," the published decision says.
The Bank of Russia filed its claim with the Moscow Commercial Court on 12 December 2025 amid EU plans to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine. The regulator put its losses across all types of assets at €200.1bn, or 18.173 trillion roubles at the exchange rate of 1 December 2025; the sum includes frozen funds, the value of blocked securities and lost profits. The court of first instance granted the claim on 15 May, on 26 May the ruling was made subject to immediate enforcement, and on 16 July the Ninth Commercial Appeal Court rejected Euroclear's appeal. The case is being heard behind closed doors.
The depository filed its cassation appeal and a motion to suspend enforcement on 24 September; on 30 September the suspension was refused but the appeal was accepted for consideration. Euroclear does not recognise the Russian court's jurisdiction, considers the central bank's claims illegitimate in the European Union and has said that the Bank of Russia's assets will remain frozen despite the Moscow court's ruling.
What it means: The Bank of Russia's claim against Euroclear has passed the first, appeal and cassation instances in Russian courts. Euroclear does not recognise the ruling, and the central bank's frozen assets, according to the depository, will stay frozen.
Who benefits: The Bank of Russia: its claim against Euroclear has been confirmed by the Russian cassation court. Euroclear is losing the dispute in the Russian jurisdiction but, in its view, the ruling has no force in the European Union. The sources do not say how or from what the award will be enforced.
Background: The European Union and the G7 countries froze about €300bn of Russian assets, of which about €180bn are held at Euroclear.
List of sources used: Vesti, Ridus, Mail.ru Finance, Moskva 24, Silver Rain
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
