Brussels, Belgium. Russia’s central bank said it has submitted a claim to the Luxembourg-based General Court of the European Union challenging the indefinite freezing of its assets in Europe decided in December 2025.
Claim filed at EU General Court
The central bank said the decision to freeze its assets in Europe indefinitely was adopted with “serious procedural violations,” arguing it was approved by majority vote rather than unanimously, as it said EU law requires.
A source close to the central bank said the alleged procedural violations were the focus of the claim.
Scale and location of frozen assets
The central bank estimated that about $300 billion of Russia’s sovereign funds have been frozen by Western countries, with most held in Europe at the Belgian depository Euroclear.
Related legal action in Moscow
The central bank filed a lawsuit in Moscow last December seeking $230 billion in damages from Euroclear in response to the indefinite freeze and proposals to confiscate the assets to fund Ukraine, which it said have not materialised.
EU document and central bank objections
The EU document on the freeze, published on December 12, rules out any possibility of legal action by Russia over the decision in EU courts.
“The EU regulation violates the basic and inalienable rights of access to justice and inviolability of property, as well as the principle of sovereign immunity of states and their central banks, guaranteed by international treaties and EU law,” the central bank said.
What do you think the EU court will focus on when reviewing Russia’s central bank claim?