Plans to tap Moscow\u2019s frozen funds for Ukraine could drive capital out of Europe, Valerie Urbain has warned<\/p>\n
The EU risks driving investors and their money out of Europe over plans to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, Euroclear CEO Valerie Urbain has warned.
\nThe bloc has frozen around \u20ac210 billion ($232 billion) in Russian central bank assets since 2022, most of it held at Belgian-based Euroclear. While the EU has already diverted profits from the funds to Ukraine, it has stopped short of seizing the assets outright over legal concerns. Moscow has condemned both measures as theft.
\nIn an interview with Belgian newspaper Le Soir published on Friday, Urbain said previous debates over the assets had already unsettled international investors.
\n\u201cI have noticed that many investors followed last year\u2019s debates and are now wondering whether Europe is still capable of respecting the rule of law,\u201d she said.
\nUrbain warned of a \u201creputational risk\u201d that could lead to \u201csome deposits leaving Europe,\u201d stressing that investor confidence depends on legal certainty and the protection of assets.<\/p>\n
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EU won\u2019t try to steal Russian assets again \u2013 Belgium<\/p>\n
She also rejected proposals to transfer the frozen funds to the EU or another entity without accounting for Euroclear\u2019s obligations.
\n\u201cYou cannot simply \u2018transfer\u2019 the assets and forget about the liabilities. That would create an enormous imbalance and lead to Euroclear\u2019s bankruptcy,\u201d she said.
\nUrbain explained that Russian securities had matured into cash under sanctions, leaving Euroclear liable to repay Moscow around \u20ac185 billion \u2013 more than 80% of its balance sheet. Transferring both assets and liabilities would still carry legal risks, she added.
\nBelgium has repeatedly resisted confiscation proposals. Last month, Prime Minister Bart De Wever said he did not expect the European Commission to revive the plan, although individual member states could still push for it. EU leaders instead agreed last December to borrow \u20ac90 billion jointly to support Ukraine.
\nIn May, a Moscow court awarded the Russian central bank around \u20ac200 billion in damages in a lawsuit against Euroclear. Earlier this month, Belgian newspaper L\u2019Echo reported that the bank had sought a court order to seize documents from Euroclear\u2019s Brussels headquarters over alleged coordination with EU institutions on sanctions.<\/p>\n
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Kremlin slams EU over transfer of Russian profits to Ukraine<\/p>\n
Urbain also warned of possible retaliation, including the confiscation of Euroclear assets in Russia and countries friendly to Moscow.
\nThe European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund have previously raised concerns that seizing Russian assets could undermine financial stability and confidence in the euro.
\nRussia\u2019s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) issued a similar warning in September, saying confiscation would damage Europe\u2019s standing among major investors, including China, India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Singapore.
\nRussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Western nations of \u201coutright robbery,\u201d declaring that trust in them has been \u201ccompletely lost.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Plans to tap Moscow\u2019s frozen funds for Ukraine could drive capital out of Europe, Valerie Urbain has warned The EU risks driving investors and their money out of Europe over…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41118,"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-41117","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