MOSCOW, November 6. /TASS/. In its legal battle with Euroclear, the Bank of Russia is aiming to formally document potential record falsifications, which could prove critical in future proceedings, Maxim Khromchenko, a financial law lecturer at the Kutafin Moscow State Law University, told TASS.
However, political bias within the European legal system may ultimately block a ruling in Moscow's favor, the expert warned.
The Bank of Russia has petitioned a Brussels commercial court to seize documents from Euroclear, alleging collusion with the European Commission and the Council of the EU to obstruct justice. The regulator requested that a court bailiff be dispatched to the clearing house’s headquarters, where approximately €210 billion in Russian state assets have been frozen since 2022.
"According to public records, the hearings are scheduled for February and March 2027," Khromchenko noted. "However, it is highly unlikely that the Bank of Russia’s demands will be granted, given how political bias compromises the fairness of the litigation. That said, the central bank's primary objective is to legally establish the falsification of documents, an effort already underway through this seizure petition."
The Bank of Russia is pushing for an independent bailiff to audit and safeguard all physical and electronic records detailing communications between Euroclear and EU political bodies this summer. "The Bank of Russia representatives have also requested a non-compliance penalty of 500,000 euros for each day of delay, capped at 10 million euros," the expert added.
According to the Belgian newspaper L'Echo, the Brussels Commercial Court already held initial hearings on the Bank of Russia lawsuit on November 3. The newspaper reported that the Bank of Russia is demanding the seizure and preservation of communications between Euroclear, the European Commission, and the Council of the EU regarding the July 26, 2026 amendment to European legislation. This amendment prohibits the enforcement of Russian court rulings in sanctions-related cases within the EU.
L'Echo stated that, under the lawsuit, all electronic and physical data from the information exchange between Euroclear and EU institutions conducted this summer must be "copied, described, inventoried, and preserved" for future legal proceedings.
Previously, the press service of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) confirmed that the Bank of Russia had filed a separate lawsuit with the CJEU, challenging the EU legislative amendment on the grounds that it constitutes an unauthorized alteration aimed at interfering with the European judicial process.