On 04/03/2026, Anton Minakov, Head of the International Law Practice at LINNIKOV & PARTNERS, an international law firm, commented on the Bank of Russia’s filing of a lawsuit in the Luxembourg Court of Justice to challenge the European Union Council’s regulation that provides for the indefinite blockade of the Russian regulator’s assets.
The Bank of Russia intends to challenge the legality of the relevant regulation, pointing out possible procedural violations in the decision-making process and violations of the right of ownership and the principle of sovereign immunity of states and their central banks.
As Anton Minakov noted, the Bank of Russia’s appeal to the EU’s judicial authorities demonstrates a shift towards active legal protection of sovereign assets.
According to the expert, the resolution of such disputes in the courts of the European Union may take a significant amount of time. In particular, the trial in the first instance court may last from 18 to 24 months, while the appeal proceedings may take more than a year.
The expert also emphasized that one of the key issues in the dispute may be the legality of using the proceeds from the frozen assets. In the EU countries, the possibility of using the proceeds from Russian funds to support Ukraine, as well as the potential use of the assets themselves, has been discussed.
According to various estimates, the amount of frozen Russian sovereign assets ranges from \$280 billion to \$330 billion, with a significant portion located in the European Union countries.
