Euroclear demanded that the case against it in Russia be dropped – Kommersant

The international depositary Euroclear demanded that the case against it in a Russian court be dropped. A representative of the depository filed a corresponding petition during a court hearing in the Moscow Arbitration Court on the first claim of a private investor against him, the correspondent reported “RBC Investments”. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for October 20.

In court, a representative of Euroclear stated that the investor’s claim is not legally related to Russia, and the damage was not caused on its territory. He also noted that the place where the harm was caused is generally unknown, therefore the case should be considered at the location of the defendant, that is, in Belgium. In addition, the representative of the European depository indicated that the plaintiff did not provide evidence that the blocked securities were accounted for by the National Settlement Depository (NSD) and Euroclear.

In turn, a representative of RSHB Asset Management Management Company (indicated as a third party in the lawsuit) said that he saw no reason to doubt that the damage was caused on Russian territory. NSD’s lawyer (also named as a third party in the lawsuit) refuted the defendant’s arguments that it is impossible to prove that the blocked securities were accounted for in both the Russian and European depositories. “It is possible to document the chain. Before the events with NSD (imposition of sanctions.— “Ъ”) Euroclear fulfilled its obligations,” said a representative of the National Settlement Depository.

In June 2022, the European depositories Euroclear and Clearstream blocked NSD accounts, which is why some of the securities of Russian investors were frozen. The total amount that Russian investors want to sue from the European depository Euroclear has already exceeded 200 billion rubles.