European central securities depository Euroclear earned around €5 billion in interest income in 2025 from investing frozen Russian assets, down 26% year-on-year. The company attributed the decline to lower interest rates. Of the total amount, €1.4 billion will be transferred to a fund supporting Ukraine, according to Euroclear’s report dated February 4. For comparison, income from these assets amounted to €6.9 billion in 2024, €4.4 billion in 2023, and €821 million in 2022.
Overall, €3.3 billion in income from frozen Russian assets has been earmarked for the European fund for Ukraine. The first tranche of €1.6 billion was transferred in July 2025, while the second payment—around €1.4 billion—is expected in early 2026. In addition, tax payments on income generated from investing Russian assets totaled €1.1 billion in 2025.
Euroclear also noted that anti-Russian sanctions and retaliatory measures by Russia negatively affected the company’s financial performance. In 2025, this resulted in a €34 million loss in business income and direct costs of €113 million. Due to significant risks and uncertainty, the depository created a €342 million provision, bringing total direct costs related to sanctions to €455 million.
The report separately notes the start of legal proceedings in the Moscow Arbitration Court following a lawsuit filed by the Central Bank of Russia. Hearings are being held behind closed doors, while Euroclear states that it intends to defend its position, adhering to its obligations to ensure financial market stability and protect clients’ interests.
As of the end of December 2025, Euroclear’s balance sheet totaled €222 billion, of which €195 billion consisted of blocked Russian assets. The company continues to reinvest these funds to minimize risks and capital requirements, in line with European capital adequacy rules and sanctions restrictions, while building a financial buffer against future risks.
After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Western countries froze around €260 billion in assets of the Russian central bank, with approximately €190 billion held at Euroclear. Income from these funds is being used to support Ukraine. At the same time, the idea of confiscating frozen assets was discussed within the EU but was abandoned due to high legal and financial risks.
In 2025, the European Commission proposed providing Ukraine with a so-called reparations loan of €140 billion, secured by frozen Russian assets, to be repaid after the end of the war through compensation from Russia. However, on October 24 Belgium blocked the initiative, as Euroclear is located on its territory and the country’s authorities feared reputational and financial consequences. France and several other states refused to provide national guarantees, while the European Central Bank declined to offer Euroclear emergency liquidity support.
On December 12, EU governments agreed to freeze Russian central bank assets held in Europe indefinitely, removing one of the key obstacles to the continued use of income from these funds in Ukraine’s interest. In response, the Central Bank of Russia stated that it considers the EU’s plans illegal, reserves the right to use all available means to protect its interests, and has filed a lawsuit against Euroclear seeking compensation of 18.2 trillion rubles, equivalent to approximately $229 billion.
