Frozen Russian funds to be used for compensation in Europe for the first time, but not for Ukraine

It is noted that the funds will be used to compensate Western investors who suffered losses after the Russian authorities confiscated their assets in Russia. According to three sources, this is a response to Moscow's actions last year, which seized billions of euros in foreign investments. Euroclear will redistribute funds from a total pool of €10 billion in cash belonging to Russian companies and citizens subject to sanctions. In total, the company has more than €180 billion in frozen Russian assets in its accounts, the agency adds.

The payments will not affect more than €200 billion in reserves of the Russian Central Bank, which remain blocked in the EU. However, this step is a new stage of sanctions pressure on Moscow, which has already warned of possible retaliatory measures in the event of the confiscation of its property abroad, Reuters notes. According to sources, the Belgian government granted Euroclear permission to make the payments in March. The company informed its clients of this in an information letter dated 1 April. It is not yet known which investors will receive compensation.

Source: Reuters, New Voice