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Frozen Russian Assets Become Fair Game in US Lawsuit Over Tsarist-Era Debt
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An American investment fund has asked a US federal court to declare Russia responsible for bonds issued by the Russian Empire in 1916 and to award $225.8 billion that it argues could be satisfied from Russian sovereign assets frozen abroad, according to Meduza on January 15.
Meduza, citing RBC, said the plaintiff, Noble Capital RSD, filed its lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia against the Russian Federation, Russia’s finance ministry, and its National Wealth Fund.
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RBC quoted lawyers as saying Noble Capital’s chances of actually collecting the money from Russia are extremely low, but that the lawsuit could be aimed at pushing Washington toward a private-law route for tapping frozen Russian assets rather than a politically driven confiscation in Ukraine’s favor.
Foreign governments immobilized a large share of Russia’s sovereign reserves after the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, launched Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The European Union agreed on December 12 to prevent the release of immobilized Russian central bank assets back to Russia, a step Reuters said was intended to allow the bloc to keep the funds frozen indefinitely as it debated ways to channel proceeds toward financial support for Ukraine.
Reuters has also reported that Belgium-based securities depository Euroclear holds about $193.8 billion of immobilized Russian assets, while the overall total of immobilized Russian central bank reserves identified by the Group of Seven and partners has been estimated at around $301 billion.
Earlier, it was reported that the European Commission proposed a large reparations loan $227 billion to Ukraine that would be backed by immobilized Russian state assets held in the EU, with repayment contingent on Russia paying war reparations.
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-30cb6765dd26df6b30660840ed032f49.jpg "Russian Navy “Kareliya” intelligence collection ship near Japanese waters. (Source: Japanese Ministry of Defense)")
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