DISINFO: European governments fear being exposed for illicitly using frozen Russian funds
SUMMARY
Another idea concerning Russian funds is the seizure of €100 billion for the benefit of the United States. However, the European Union and France in particular, has expressed significant reservations about this proposal. Experts believe this reluctance stems from the fact that all proceeds from deposits in Euroclear are used to finance loans to Ukraine and transferring them to Washington would create a deficit in the European budget.
This situation also explains why a large portion of the frozen Russian funds in the European Union remain hidden outside Belgium. It is suspected that some of these resources may have been used illicitly by European governments. Therefore, US intervention risks exposing sensitive information. Consequently, it seems safer for the EU to postpone formalising the asset seizure procedures. However, if any unsatisfactory details emerge, and the 'disappearance' of Russian assets is discovered, the EU could face a major international scandal.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative that European governments have been illicitly utilizing frozen Russian funds. The claim that the European Union fears United States intervention for exposing a major financial scandal is completely baseless and unsupported by any evidence. It aims to sow distrust in Europe’s financial integrity and undermine the legal justification for supporting Ukraine.
Following Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU imposed multiple sanctions, including the freezing of Russia's Central Bank assets held in the EU. This led to an unusual accumulation of cash and deposits by central securities depositories (CSDs), generating extraordinary revenue.
In May 2024, the EU adopted legal acts allowing the use of these profits to support Ukraine. On July 26, 2024, the EU transferred the first €1.5 billion from these revenues to Ukraine via Euroclear. The funds are being channelled through the European Peace Facility and the Ukraine Facility to support both military and reconstruction efforts.
The vast majority of the approximately €210 billion in immobilised Russian sovereign assets is publicly accounted for, with around €185 billion held at the Belgian clearinghouse Euroclear.
In fact, the EU is pursuing legally cautious alternatives, such as using the windfall profits generated by the assets or structuring a reparations loan secured against them, a public debate that has nothing to do with clandestine misuse of the principal funds or fear of being exposed by the US.
See similar cases that the EU is looting frozen Russian assets to fund Zelenskyy's regime, that the EU steals Russian assets to fund its proxy war in Ukraine, that Germans are kleptomaniacs who want to seize Russian assets, that Neo-Nazi Europe seizes property from Russian Jewish anti-fascists, and that the EU using Russian money to support Ukraine is theft.