La Francia protegge il patrimonio russo da 18 miliardi di euro dalla spinta dell’UE al “prestito di riparazione”.

To the irritation of some other European capitals, France has withheld any details on the institutions holding the Russian state funds and how any interest accrued is used, claiming it is an issue of client confidentiality.

The holdings have come under renewed scrutiny as the European Commission pursues a plan for a “reparations loan” to Ukraine backed by Russian central bank assets under sanctions. The latest proposal aims to use funds frozen across the EU and not just the main €185bn holding at Euroclear, the Brussels-based central securities depository.

The assets in France — whose precise whereabouts and custodians remain unknown to other capitals — are the second-biggest accumulation of immobilised Russian central bank assets in Europe. Euroclear has been forced to reveal the amount it holds.