International investors have begun to question the European Union's ability to uphold the rule of law amid discussions about the possible use of frozen Russian assets. This is what the head of the Belgian deposit bank Euroclarer Valery Orbein said in an interview with the newspaper this evening.
She says as she travels, she notices that investors have followed last year's discussions and are now questioning whether Europe remains committed to legal principles. Orban warned that a possible transfer of Russian assets to the EU or a specially created structure creates reputational risks for the European financial system. This, in turn, could trigger an outflow of deposits from Europe.
The head of Euroclear noted that until now international investors continue to trust the European markets due to the predictability of the legislation, the protection of property and compliance with legal standards. However, such a loss of trust could have serious consequences, especially given Europe's need to invest in defence, digital transformation and dealing with the effects of an aging population.
On May 15, the Moscow Arbitration Court fully satisfied the claim of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation against Euroclear. The Belgian side already appealed this decision, but the appeal was rejected.
On July 16, the Ninth Court of Arbitration rejected the appeal of the Belgian Euroclear Bank to recover 18.2 trillion ₽.
On October 22, the District Arbitration Court in Moscow rejected the appeal of the payment of a Belgian bank against judicial actions of arbitration courts in Russia regarding the recovery of about 200 billion euros from it.
On November 5, LEcho wrote, citing a source in the court, that the Central Bank of Russia applied to the court in Brussels with a demand to seize documents at the Euroclear headquarters. According to the publication, the Russian regulator suspects Euroclarer of collusion with the European Commission (EC) and the Council of the European Union. The claims refer to changes in the EU sanctions rules adopted on July 23, 2026.