Valerie Urbain, CEO of the Belgian fund Euroclear, warned of the risks of dealing with Russian assets.
Touching frozen Russian assets is dangerous and could provoke retaliatory measures from Moscow, said Valérie Urbain, CEO of the Belgian fund Euroclear.
According to her, if Russia considers the loan to Ukraine a form of confiscation, it “will not remain idle.” Urben explained that she expects legal action against Euroclear and the possible seizure of assets the depository holds on behalf of its clients in Russia.
She added that Moscow could go further and use all Belgian assets located in Russia as a countermeasure. According to Urbain, these assets have become a “real bargaining chip” in the negotiations, as their value is estimated at 10-15% of Russia's GDP.
In her view, it is now better to involve them in the peace process rather than risk creating complex legal schemes that could deprive the West of the opportunity to use these assets as a negotiating tool.
As a reminder, the Belgian fund holds approximately half of the Russian assets frozen in the West. EU leaders are proposing to confiscate them to finance a loan to Ukraine. Belgium opposes this, thereby blocking the loan.
