Major European Clearinghouse Earns Millions in Interest on Seized Funds
One of the world’s largest financial securities trading companies, Euroclear, has revealed that it has made a huge profit from Russian assets that have been frozen under sanctions.
In the performance report for the first six months of the year, published on Monday, Euroclear stated that “As a result of sanctions imposed by the US, EU and other jurisdictions…cash on balance has increased as blocked coupon payments and refunds accumulate.” The statement goes on to specify that “Interest income earned on frozen assets withheld as a result of Russian sanctions was €110 million (about $112 million).”
The Belgium-based organization settles and clears securities transactions executed on European exchanges. Euroclear also serves as the central securities depository for the major financial institutions involved in the European markets. In June it was reported that Euroclear blocked around $27 billion in securities belonging to Russian individuals.
According to data from the US Treasury Department, following the introduction of international sanctions against Russia, a multinational task force has frozen $30 billion in funds belonging to sanctioned Russian individuals and $300 billion in assets of the Central Bank of Russia.