MOSCOW, September 22. /TASS/. European bureaucrats fear that without seizing Russian assets they will not be able to indefinitely fund the corrupt Kiev regime, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said in a press release on Tuesday.

According to the SVR, they are discussing proposals at the expert level to create a new supranational entity where Russian assets could be ‘hidden’ after being removed from the Euroclear depositary. Such a move would undermine the credibility of pan-European institutions, the SVR warned.

TASS has compiled key statements from the SVR.

Operation to steal Russian assets

European officials fear that without seizing Russian assets, they "will not be able to endlessly fund the corrupt Kiev regime, which constitutes the expenditure side of NATO’s conflict with Russia," the SVR argued.

EU leaders are rushing to carry out the operation to confiscate Russian assets before next year’s elections in a number of European countries: "EU leaders have a vital interest in completing the operation to steal Russian assets before the elections in a number of European countries in 2027."

EU’s plan to seize Russian assets

According to information made available to the SVR, minds in Brussels are "still all hyped up over plans to misappropriate the Bank of Russia’s assets frozen in the EU."

The EU is discussing proposals at the expert level to remove Russian assets from the Euroclear depositary: "This time around, they are discussing proposals at the expert level on creating a new supranational entity where Russian assets could be ‘hidden’ after being removed from the Euroclear depositary."

Potential impact for EU

The SVR warned the EU that attempts to confiscate sovereign Russian assets may erode global confidence in pan-European institutions: "The current ruling elite in the EU should come to understand that its attempts to steal sovereign Russian assets will undermine the credibility of pan-European institutions." "Countries in the Global South will no longer consider European jurisdictions as a safe haven," the SVR said. "For Europe will not be able to maintain the stability of its own financial system without relying on large foreign holders of European securities, such as China, India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Singapore. So, the thief will be punished in any case," the SVR argued.

EU’s attempts to remove Russian assets from Euroclear depositary

On September 2, Euractiv reported that the EU is considering an option to remove the frozen Russian assets from the Belgian jurisdiction and transfer them away from the Brussels-based clearing house Euroclear into a "completely new legal vehicle."

According to the website, the proposal was presented to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as a creative effort to override Belgian resistance to using the funds held at Euroclear.

On August 29, Belgium blocked the latest attempt by four EU member states to revive discussions on the possible expropriation of frozen Russian assets, Belgian Defense and Foreign Trade Minister Theo Francken told VRT television.

The kingdom declared the plan to expropriate and use €200 billion in sovereign Russian assets immobilized at Euroclear in Belgium to support Ukraine’s military operations "non-negotiatible," he said.

Belgium blocked the European Commission’s initial attempt to appropriate the funds in December 2025.

Russian assets freeze

The EU and the Group of Seven (G7) nations have frozen approximately €300 billion in Russian assets, with about €185 billion held at the Belgian depository Euroclear.

The EU is looking for ways to utilize these funds for Ukraine’s needs. It acknowledges a lack of legal mechanisms for such operations, which threaten to erode international investor confidence.

In December 2025, the Bank of Russia filed an 18.2-trillion-ruble ($216 bln) lawsuit against Euroclear with the Moscow Arbitration Court, seeking the return of frozen funds, the value of blocked securities, and lost profits. On May 15, the court ruled in favor of the Russian regulator.

By May 29, court bailiffs initiated almost 60 enforcement proceedings against Euroclear Bank to recover nearly 28 billion rubles ($332 mln), according to court and other materials seen by TASS.