Kirill Chernovol, Researcher at the Gaidar Institute's International Best Practices Analysis Department, commented for «Vzglyad» on the prospects of the Bank of Russia's lawsuit against the Belgian depository Euroclear for 18.17 trillion rubles in connection with the Central Bank's demand to return frozen assets and lost profits.
The expert explained the legal basis for calculating the lost profits claimed by the Russian regulator. "The calculation of lost profits is often approximate in nature and is assessed by the court based on the evidence presented as a whole. But according to the Civil Code, the calculation of lost profits can also be linked to the income that the holding or servicing institution received from transactions with ‘stuck’ liquidity," said Kirill Chernovol.
The expert also noted that Russia could receive money from Euroclear's assets, which can be seized in the Russian Federation. However, he considers full recovery of the entire amount unlikely due to international procedural and sanctions barriers. "The enforcement of court decisions outside the Russian Federation in practice is hampered by local procedures and restrictions (including sanctions), so in a ‘procedural’ sense, the likelihood of full recovery of the entire amount cannot be assessed in advance, but it depends on the availability and legal ‘enforceability’ of the defendant's assets, and a scenario of partial enforcement usually looks more realistic than full enforcement," Kirill Chernovol emphasized.