Russia's central bank tries to sue EU over indefinite asset freeze

Moscow: Russia's Central Bank said Tuesday it had filed a lawsuit in Luxembourg against the EU's indefinite freeze on some $230 billion of Moscow's reserves imposed over its offensive on Ukraine.

EU states last year tightened the legal basis for their hold over the 200 billion euros in funds which were first frozen at the start of the war in 2022 as the bloc looked to use them to underpin a mammoth loan to Kyiv.

Under the new approach, the assets remain frozen until Russia halts its offensive and provides reparations to Ukraine.


Previously, the freeze needed to be extended every six months by unanimous approval of the EU's 27 member states allowing the bloc's more Moscow-friendly countries such as Hungary and Slovakia to use the rollover for political leverage.

Russia's Central Bank said it had submitted a claim to the General Court of the European Union, based in Luxembourg, challenging the legality of the new decision.

"The EU Regulation violates the basic and inalienable rights to access justice, inviolability of property, and the principle of sovereign immunity of states and their central banks," the Russian Central Bank said in a statement.

The EU Court said the case was introduced on February 27.

Russia is separately suing the Belgium-based Euroclear depository in a Moscow court over the asset freeze.

In response to the lawsuit, EU spokesman Balazs Ujvari said: "This claim comes in a context of a growing number of Russian legal challenges concerning our support measures for Ukraine."

"We are fully confident about the legality of this regulation and its compatibility with EU law," he added.