The Belgian authorities have granted Euroclear permission to unblock some of the funds held in the National Settlement Depository (NSD) account. This decision will allow Euroclear to pay compensation to its clients who have suffered losses as a result of Russian court rulings and counter-sanctions.
The compensation will be paid to Euroclear clients affected by Russian Presidential Decree No. 198 of 19 March 2024, which regulates the payment of funds from “C” type accounts relating to Russian securities in foreign depositories. In August 2024, the NSD wrote off funds from Euroclear’s “C” account in accordance with this decree, but the amount of funds and the number of recipients have not yet been disclosed. Vladimir Putin’s 2024 decree banned the collection of funds from type “C” accounts on the basis of writs of execution, but made an exception for court decisions issued before 3 January that year.
To date, Russian courts have settled five lawsuits against Euroclear brought by Rosbank, Lider, MTS Bank, Bank Saint Petersburg and former Senator Efim Malkin. The total amount Euroclear has to pay as a result of these decisions is 9.1 billion roubles.
Andrey Gusev, Senior Partner at Nordic Star, commented on the news on the Forbes blog. He noted that this decision by Euroclear is an important, albeit partial, step in the situation of blocked Russian assets in Europe.
More details are available at the link.