Central Bank files first lawsuit in European court over frozen Russian assets
The Bank of Russia filed a lawsuit with the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg on February 27 to challenge the indefinite freezing of Russian assets. This was reported in the bank's press release, which was issued on March 3. The Russian bank believes that the adoption of the relevant EU regulation violates "fundamental and inalienable rights to access to justice, the inviolability of property, the principle of sovereign immunity of states and their central banks." It also contradicts "fundamental principles of law and cannot be considered compatible with the rule of law." The Central Bank also believes that the decision to block assets was made in violation, as not all EU members supported it. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, EU authorities froze about 260 billion euros of Russian assets. The decision to freeze was repeatedly extended by the EU authorities, but in mid-December 2025, they approved an indefinite blocking. After this, the Central Bank promised to file lawsuits against European banks in Russian courts.
