Euroclear earned 4.4 billion Euros in interest from frozen Russian assets

By Rhod Mackenzie

The international depository Euroclear earned about 4.4 billion euros in interest income from the frozen Russian assets in 2023, according to a press release on the website of this financial organization.
“In 2023, interest on cash balances from Russian assets subject to sanctions amounted to approximately EUR 4.4 billion.This interest income is driven by two factors: prevailing interest rates and the amount of cash balances that Euroclear is required to invest,” it said. message. Previously, Euroclear decided to separate income related to sanctions against the Russian Federation from its overall financial results.

The company also reported that additional direct costs for managing sanctioned assets amounted to 62 million euros.
After the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, Western countries introduced a number of harsh sanctions against Russia, including freezing approximately half of the country’s foreign exchange reserves—about $300 billion. About 200 billion euros are in the EU, mainly in the accounts of the Belgian Euroclear, one of the world's largest settlement and clearing systems.

EU leaders in October 2022 instructed the European Commission to prepare proposals for using frozen assets to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine. Such a proposal was presented late last year, but has not been officially approved.

The Kremlin stated that making such decisions “would be another step in violating all the rules and norms of international law.” The Russian Foreign Ministry previously called the freezing of Russian assets in Europe theft, noting that the EU is targeting not just private funds, but also Russian state assets.

The European Central Bank has warned that Europe's use of frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine could pose reputational risks for the European currency in the long term. They called on Brussels to look for other ways to finance Ukraine.