Passive collateral: what are the chances of the Central Bank getting back the blocked assets

The victory of the Central Bank in a lawsuit against the EU in a foreign court may be a key step towards unfreezing Russian assets and setting a precedent that will help domestic investors recover their funds, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. The regulator disputes the indefinite blocking, arguing that it violates the rules of the European Union itself. Proceedings in this case are also underway in Russian courts, but the decision of a foreign instance will be of greater importance to the EU. His verdict will have to be enforced, and other levers of pressure available to Russia can help in this, analysts say.

The Central Bank filed a lawsuit in the European Court of Justice over blocked assets

On February 27, 2026, the Bank of Russia filed a lawsuit with the General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg, the regulator said. The Central Bank is challenging the EU decision, which fixed the indefinite blocking of reserves and limited the possibility of judicial protection of assets, according to the regulator's website. They emphasize that the European Union violated the basic rights of access to justice and the inviolability of sovereign state assets, which are enshrined in international law.

In December, the European Commission imposed an indefinite freeze on Russian assets. For the Russian Federation, this did not significantly change the situation, it was rather a political move. At the same time, the EU did not dare to directly confiscate the funds. They approved a loan to Ukraine in the amount of €90 billion for 2026-2027, for which it was proposed to use Russian funds as collateral, but in the end the money was taken from the general budget of the EU.

At the same time, against the background of these discussions, the Bank of Russia filed a lawsuit against Euroclear in the Moscow Arbitration Court. The lawsuit in Europe was a continuation of this legal line.

One of the key arguments of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation is that the indefinite blocking of assets was adopted in violation of procedures: the document was approved not unanimously, but by a majority vote, which contradicts the rules of the EU.

The Central Bank has not yet disclosed further steps to unlock assets, the press service of the regulator told Izvestia. At the same time, the Bank of Russia reserves the right to protect its interests by all available legal means.

What does this mean for ordinary investors

The Central Bank is not challenging the 2022 freeze itself, but its indefinite nature and limitation of judicial protection, the head of the international service explained. Razmorozka.com Alexey Bogdanov. Initially, it was a temporary sanctions measure, and the chances of success in the EU courts were minimal. But then the proceeds from the assets were sent to support Ukraine, and at the end of 2025, an indefinite lockdown was fixed.

"The limits of what is acceptable have been shifted further than it has ever been with the sovereign reserves of the central bank,— he stressed.

The process was not started earlier because the assets were not in danger of expropriation, said Dmitry Lesnov, Deputy General Director for Brokerage Business at Finam. But at the end of 2025, calls for confiscation intensified in Europe, so the regulator actually switched to plan "B" and began a legal fight.

At the same time, we are talking only about state reserves, and not about funds from private individuals, explained financial lawyer Olga Plekhanova. The assets of Russians and companies are not directly affected by this dispute. Nevertheless, this process is also significant for them.

"The court will have to give a legal assessment of the entire practice of blocking assets of the Russian Federation, and these conclusions will inevitably be used in the cases of private investors," Olga Plekhanova emphasized.

Even a limited victory by the Central Bank could increase the chances of ordinary investors withdrawing funds from the EU, said Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global.

What are the Central Bank's chances of winning

Transferring the dispute to European jurisdiction seems like a logical step, said Anastasia Feinberg, a consultant at the Estonian Legal Alliance. It would be almost impossible to enforce the decision of the Russian court abroad, although the Russian Federation has levers of pressure.

The Bank of Russia has good arguments — the decision on the indefinite blocking of assets really should be made unanimously, and this is the EU's mistake, said Artem Kasumyan, senior associate at the Delcredere Bar Association.

At the same time, it is difficult to count on a complete victory, Alexey Bogdanov believes. The EU Court of Justice traditionally gives the Council wide latitude in the field of foreign policy and rarely intervenes in sanctions practice.

However, the dispute concerns not the sanctions themselves, but the limits of interference in sovereign reserves, said Evgenia Amelkina, director of the Eastern Legal Alliance. In international practice, the assets of central banks are considered particularly protected. If the time limits become indefinite, the question arises about the permissible limits of such measures.

We should not expect an obvious victory, but we should not consider the process a formality, Olga Plekhanova emphasized. Even a partial solution that draws a line between the sanction and the blurring of the Central Bank's legal immunity can be of serious importance.

The maximum that the regulator can theoretically count on is the cancellation of the indefinite lockdown, Alexey Bogdanov noted. In this case, the Europeans would not be able to use Russian assets so easily — it would become legally more risky.

If the act is declared invalid according to the procedure, the EU can nevertheless adopt a similar document in compliance with formalities, noted Artyom Kasumyan. If the restrictions are found to be illegal in essence, it is logical to expect the release of reserves, but the European Union will probably look for ways to keep them within its perimeter.

How can investors unlock their assets in the EU

Today, Russians have virtually only one working mechanism for defrosting funds — obtaining individual licenses from Western regulators, primarily the Belgian Ministry of Finance, Evgenia Amelkina noted. The process is long, the requirements for documents are high, and the decisions are not always consistent. However, there are results here — some investors manage to withdraw funds from Euroclear to European accounts.

— Now investors should use any available opportunities to obtain individual EU permission to withdraw funds through European courts, — the specialist emphasized.

However, not everyone can afford such a path due to the cost of European lawyers, Dmitry Lesnov noted. Therefore, mechanisms for mass unblocking through brokers are being worked out. Previously, a similar scheme was launched at the regulatory level, now companies are collecting new applications on their own initiative.

At the same time, mass exchange schemes look weaker from the point of view of the sanctions regime, Anastasia Feinberg believes. The European system is cautious about universal solutions, so such a scheme cannot guarantee the freezing of assets.

At the same time, the consideration of the Central Bank's claim in the General Court of the EU in the first instance usually takes from a year to a year and a half, she noted. If there is an appeal, the dispute may last for about another year, so you should not expect quick decisions here.

The actions of the Central Bank are an attempt to create additional leverage in negotiations on the Ukrainian conflict, Dmitry Lesnov added. There is still a high level of support for Kiev in Europe, while there is simply no extra money to finance it, which is why we are talking about the confiscation of the sovereign assets of the Russian Federation. If the Central Bank manages to legally prevent the Europeans from pulling off this scenario, Russia's negotiating position may strengthen.

Vladimir Putin announced retaliatory measures in case of confiscation at the end of November. On December 2, in an interview with Izvestia, VTB CEO Andrey Kostin emphasized: "We have <...> large assets of Western private investors. In any case, we will be suing for many years and will not allow Western states to just steal and evade responsibility."

Independent economist Andrei Barkhota also admits that our country is capable of nationalizing assets of European companies for a similar amount. Or take the assets of foreign investors from "C" type accounts as compensation — previously their volume was estimated at €285 billion, Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global, recalled.