Brussels is considering moving the funds out of Belgium\u2019s Euroclear into a new supranational structure, the SVR has said<\/p>\n
The EU is working on a new scheme to \u201csteal\u201d Moscow\u2019s frozen sovereign assets to bankroll Ukraine, Russia\u2019s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said in a press release on Tuesday.
\nAround $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets was frozen by Kiev\u2019s Western backers after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Roughly $240 billion is still being held at the Belgium-based clearing house Euroclear.
\nAccording to the SVR, EU leaders have \u201ca vital interest in stealing Russian assets,\u201d because they fear they will not be able to indefinitely finance \u201cthe thieving Kiev regime\u201d without appropriating the funds.
\nEurocrats are now \u201cin a hurry\u201d to pull off the seizure before elections in several EU states in 2027, the agency stated, arguing that future governments in the bloc could be less willing to back further financial support for Ukraine.
\nThe EU has already redirected profits generated by the immobilized funds to Ukraine but has been unable to seize the underlying assets due to strong political and legal resistance.
\nAccording to the SVR, experts in Brussels are now discussing the creation of a new supranational structure that could take control of Russian central bank funds after they are moved outside of Belgian jurisdiction.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Court rules Belgium had no right to withhold Russian bank\u2019s assets<\/p>\n
Belgium has repeatedly blocked proposals to seize the assets, with Prime Minister Bart De Wever warning that outright confiscation would expose his country to legal and financial retaliation. Euroclear has also said it could sue the EU if the funds are seized.
\nLast week, Belgium\u2019s top administrative court also struck down a government decision not to release the assets of Russia\u2019s BCS Bank, which were frozen alongside Moscow\u2019s sovereign assets in 2022. The court found that Belgian authorities had mishandled the case and ruled that the bank could seek a fresh review, potentially setting a precedent for other entities whose requests were rejected under similar circumstances.
\nMoscow has long denounced any attempt to appropriate its sovereign assets, calling it \u201ctheft\u201d and warning that confiscation would trigger retaliation, potentially including measures against Western assets held in Russia.
\nThe SVR has also warned that confiscating Russia\u2019s sovereign funds would damage trust in European financial institutions among major foreign investors, including China, India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Singapore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brussels is considering moving the funds out of Belgium\u2019s Euroclear into a new supranational structure, the SVR has said The EU is working on a new scheme to \u201csteal\u201d Moscow\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t