Brussels, Belgium, 19 September, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Belgium faces fresh legal questions over frozen Russian assets after the country’s Council of State ruled that the Belgian Treasury lacked the properly defined authority to reject a request by Russia’s BCS Bank to release assets held through Brussels-based Euroclear. The court did not order the assets to be released.
Belgian court rules on BCS Bank assets
The Council of State, Belgium’s highest administrative court, ruled in a case involving BCS Bank and securities held at Euroclear through Russia’s National Settlement Depository.
The NSD was sanctioned by the European Union in June 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. BCS Bank later sought permission from Belgian authorities to release its assets, but the Treasury rejected its request in July 2024. The bank challenged that decision in October 2024.
The court found that Belgium had designated its finance minister as the competent authority for such applications, but the subsequent delegation of those powers to the Treasury’s administrator-general lacked sufficient legal precision.
Court does not order assets to be unfrozen
The judgment concerns Belgium’s administrative procedure rather than the legality of EU sanctions themselves.
It applies directly to BCS Bank and does not require Euroclear to return the bank’s holdings. However, it could open the way for challenges to other Treasury decisions made under the same delegation arrangement if Belgium does not revise its framework.
Belgium’s Finance Ministry told Reuters it was “studying the ruling and its possible consequences.”
Euroclear holds €202 billion in sanctioned assets
The case has wider significance because Euroclear sits at the centre of Europe’s management of Russian financial assets.
Euroclear reported that €202 billion of its €241 billion balance sheet at the end of June 2026 related to sanctioned Russian assets. The company earned €2.3 billion in interest from those assets during the first half of 2026 and provisioned €1.5 billion for the EU windfall contribution.
Euroclear said sanctions and Russian countermeasures also generated €146 million in direct costs during the period.
The company is simultaneously defending itself against legal action in Russia. Euroclear said of a Central Bank of Russia claim: “Euroclear strongly contests the Central Bank of Russia’s claim, which is without merit.”
Belgium maintains opposition to confiscating Russian assets
The ruling comes as European governments continue debating whether immobilised Russian sovereign reserves should play a larger role in financing Ukraine.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot reiterated Belgium’s opposition this month, saying: “The reasons behind our opposition have not magically disappeared.” He warned that using the assets through a process resembling confiscation would create significant risks.
Around €210 billion in Russian central bank assets are immobilised across the EU, with approximately €185 billion held at Euroclear, according to figures reported this month.
Belgian government reviews court ruling
Belgium must now assess whether its procedures for deciding sanctions-related exemption requests require changes.
For now, the frozen Russian assets involved in the BCS Bank dispute remain immobilised. The judgment challenges how Belgium handled the bank’s application, rather than overturning EU sanctions or ordering a broader release of Russian holdings.
