MOSCOW, September 25 The positive decision of the Belgian Treasury on the collective application submitted by the Delcredere Bar Association on behalf of one Russian management company (MC) should bring more positive results to the financial market, said partner, co-head of the sanctions practice of the board Andrey Timchuk.
The board reported that the Belgian Treasury issued permission to unlock the frozen assets of a group of Russian investors in the Euroclear depository, which became the first known case of issuing an unlocking license based on a collective application. Delcredere attorneys filed this management company class action in early January 2023. Permission from the Belgian Treasury has been received to transfer all assets of about 250 clients of the management company in the amount of more than $33 million.
«»Some of the clients had EU residence permits and accounts in European financial institutions. However, given the lack of accounts for another part of the management company's clients, as well as for the sake of uniformity, we declared European accounts of the management company itself. Permission from the Belgian Treasury was obtained to transfer all assets to accounts in Cyprus broker, further disposal of assets will depend on the will of the management company and its clients,” he said.
“We would like to note a positive point: the Belgian regulator positively perceives the Cypriot jurisdiction for the withdrawal of assets, although previously there was a little skepticism in this regard,” Timchuk added. He noted that in this case, the lawyers did not file a lawsuit, but an application to the administrative body.
The bar's lawyers have already submitted more than 60 applications from various individuals: both retail investors who want to increase their chances of unlocking assets, and management companies who want to help their clients. The value of assets can vary from 500 thousand euros to several hundred million euros, Timchuk said. “The association in a collective statement must fit into a certain logic: for example, the applicant is a management company that acts in the interests of its clients, or a broker applies for permission in the interests of its clients,” the lawyer notes.
“»At the same time, I would like to note that an individual application has a greater chance of success, and is also considered faster, therefore, other things being equal, we would give preference to individual applications. At the same time, the presence of a positive decision on a collective application should certainly bring more positive results to the financial market. This decision means that with the right approach, a collective application also has a chance of success,” he sums up.
European countries last year imposed sanctions against the Russian National Settlement Depository (NSD). As a result, funds and securities of Russian clients were blocked in NSD accounts in the depositories Euroclear (regulated by the Belgian Treasury) and Clearstream (Ministry of Finance of Luxembourg). Funds in NSD accounts with foreign correspondent banks were also blocked.