Moscow Court Orders Euroclear to Pay $105 Million in Sanctions Dispute
What Did the Moscow Court Decide?
A Moscow arbitration court has ordered Belgian clearing giant Euroclear to pay $105.4 million in damages to First Asset Management, a Russian fund manager formerly part of Sberbank. The ruling, first reported by state agency RIA and confirmed in court filings, marks the latest in a string of lawsuits tied to billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets.
The case stems from sanctions imposed by the European Union later than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Euroclear froze accounts linked to sanctioned Russian entities, leaving domestic investors unable to access securities held abroad. In May, the identical court awarded First Asset roughly $185 million in a parallel lawsuit, part of an escalating legal campaign inside Russia.
Investor Takeaway
Why Are Euroclear and Russia Clashing?
By mid-2025, on its balance sheet had swelled to €194 billion. Belgium has already begun taxing profits generated by those assets, while the EU has agreed to channel some of the proceeds into Ukraine’s reconstruction. Moscow has retaliated by freezing Western-owned securities inside Russia and encouraging domestic firms to file lawsuits against foreign custodians.
First Asset Management, founded in 1996 and once controlled by state lender Sberbank, launched its nahead 185 billion roubles ($2 billion). The Moscow rulings are part of a broader campaign by Russian authorities to shield domestic investors from losses while framing the legal battles as a response to “unlawful” Western measures.
Can Russia Enforce These Judgments?
Legal experts say enforcement abroad is effectively impossible. In December 2024, the EU instructed member states not to recognize Russian court judgments related to sanctions disputes. That means Euroclear will not face collection efforts in Belgium or other European jurisdictions, limiting the rulings’ financial bite. Instead, the cases function as political statements, reinforcing Moscow’s narrative that it is defending Russian .
Euroclear has not commented on the Moscow ruling. In parallel, it is working with Belgian to distribute around €3 billion to Western investors whose Russian assets were seized by Moscow. The initiative has sparked criticism from Kyiv, which wants all income from frozen Russian holdings directed toward Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Investor Takeaway
What’s Next in the Financial Standoff?
For Russia, the rulings are less about financial recovery and more about symbolism. By issuing large damages awards against Euroclear, Moscow is demonstrating defiance of Western sanctions while attempting to reassure domestic investors. For Europe, the priority remains preserving frozen assets as leverage while channeling profits toward Ukraine.
The broader standoff shows no sign of easing. With nahead €200 billion immobilized, Euroclear sits at the center of a geopolitical tug-of-war over who controls the income from frozen Russian holdings. Until sanctions are lifted—or new legal frameworks emerge—these parallel judgments are likely to proliferate without meaningful financial effect.
