Europe seizes $3.4 billion in frozen Russian assets to compensate Western investors

Reuters reported the information.

Euroclear is preparing to seize approximately 3 billion EUR (3.4 billion USD) from frozen Russian assets to compensate Western investors whose funds were confiscated by Moscow, according to documents and sources familiar with the matter.

The planned payout represents a significant escalation in the financial conflict between Russia and the West following the Ukraine invasion. This redistribution comes from a larger pool of about 10 billion EUR in sanctioned Russian cash held at the Belgian firm.

The move follows recent changes to EU sanctions rules that now permit such disbursements. Belgium, Euroclear's principal legal authority, approved the payout in March, with the company notifying clients in an April 1 briefing document.

This action was triggered by Russian government orders last year to confiscate billions from Western investors. While this redistribution won't touch the more than 200 billion EUR in frozen Russian central bank reserves, it marks a new level of financial retaliation in the ongoing economic conflict.

Some experts have criticized the decision, with Jacob Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute for International Economics calling it "morally reprehensible" to prioritize Western businesses over using these assets for Ukraine's reconstruction.