Brussels financial organisation Euroclear at centre of row over Russia-Ukraine conflict

Brussels-based financial organisation Euroclear has found itself at the centre of a controversy related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict because it holds €193 billion in Russian investments.

According to most European leaders, Bruzz reports, these billions can be used to finance Ukraine.

But Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) said during last week's European summit that such an act would come with major legal risks for Belgium, and the summit backed down from its initial plan to seize the assets for a recovery plan for Ukraine.

In the extreme scenario of a seizure, Russian institutions could take Euroclear and Belgium to court.

Euroclear said that this would shatter its reputation as a neutral international service provider.

In a carefully worded communiqué, the Brussels-based securities depository pointed to the enormous impact that a forced transfer of Russian assets would have.

“It is our role to properly inform decision-makers about the implications of any steps they are considering,” the company said in response to the European non-decision.

“It’s crucial that any action or agreement does not undermine confidence in international financial markets.

"This requires safeguarding the rule of law and legal certainty that underpin global economies – such as the principles of sovereign immunity and the protection of property rights.

"We also believe that any additional risk to Euroclear must be adequately covered."

The high stakes of holding Russian billions are also evident from the strict security measures in and around the main Euroclear building on Boulevard Roi Albert II.

Authorities consider the Euroclear building to be one of the capital’s most critical infrastructures and therefore a potential target for a hybrid Russian attack.

There was talk of bodyguards for management and a suspicious drone earlier this year when Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was visiting Belgium.

A Euroclear spokesperson called these concerns overblown, saying the drone story was “partly nonsense” and “had nothing to do with Russia, but with a construction site next to our building”.