Belgian Court Rules Country’s Treasury Department Lacks Authority to Decide on Russian Bank’s Frozen Assets
The court said Belgium’s delegation of release decisions was too broad, leaving the BCS Bank ruling open to wider legal challenges.
- On Friday, Belgium's top administrative court ruled the treasury department lacked legal authority to refuse the release of frozen assets belonging to BCS Bank held at Euroclear.
- BCS Bank requested asset release in July 2024, but the treasury department refused, prompting the bank to appeal to the Belgian Council in October 2024.
- The court found the Belgian Finance Ministry's delegation of power to the administrator-general was "too broad and insufficiently defined," requiring Belgium to designate a "competent authority."
- While the ruling does not order immediate asset release, other treasury decisions remain vulnerable to challenge. A spokesperson for the Belgian Finance Ministry said the government is studying the decision.
- Euroclear holds roughly €200 billion in frozen Russian assets. The European Commission previously proposed using these funds to back a loan for Ukraine, though Belgium expressed concerns over potential liability.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Belgium should designate a "competent authority" to decide on requests for the release of frozen assets.
The Belgian court ruled that the Treasury did not have the proper authority to deny BCS Bank to unlock assets from Euroclear, but did not order them to be returned.
Belgian court rules country's treasury department lacks authority to ...
Belgian court rules country's treasury department lacks authority to decide on Russian bank's frozen assets
BRUSSELS, Sept 16 - Belgium's top administrative court ruled that the country's treasury department lacked the proper legal authority to refuse the release of frozen assets of Russian bank BCS held at Brussels-based clearing house Euroclear. Read more at straitstimes.com.
The Treasury, the department of the SPF Finance which manages the financial obligations of the State, is not competent to judge whether frozen Russian assets can be released under certain conditions, according to the Council of State in a judgment of Friday, quoted Wednesday in De Tijd. ...
The Belgian Council of State has established that the Federal Treasury does not have the legal power to decide on the release of frozen Russian assets. In this sense, the decision can affect hundreds of decisions made in recent years. Otherwise, the assets will not be automatically released. The Russian bank BCS has contested the blocking of its assets from Euroclear, with [...]
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