INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A Russian law firm has announced a class-action lawsuit against European securities settlement houses in Russian courts to recover funds
assets held in the Belgium-based Euroclear and Luxembourg-based Clearstream settlement houses have been frozen since the start of the
invasion.In retaliation, Moscow froze Euroclear and Clearstream's funds and securities held inside Russia.Nektorov, Saveliev - Partners
chances of receiving licenses that would unblock unsanctioned investors' assets.Nektorov and other lawyers say, on the contrary, the
class-action lawsuit could motivate European depositories to unfreeze Russian assets.Nektorov cites as an example a Russian court ruling in
February that awarded a Russian bank $107 million of Euroclear funds; in April, the Belgian settlement house unblocked $110 million of
managing company Ingosstrakh-Investitsii, according to Vedomosti.But additional complications include EU sanctions that ban lawyers from
representing any Russian and Belarusian legal entities in EU courts.The EU has been considering options to funnel frozen Russian funds
toward Ukraine's reconstruction efforts.
