Kathmandu. Russia’s central bank has filed a lawsuit at the European Court over $230 billion in Russian assets frozen by the European Union (EU) following its invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow has filed a lawsuit at the European Union’s General Court in Luxembourg, arguing that the freezing of assets was illegal.

EU member states froze Russian assets for the first time since the war began in 2022. Last year, the bloc tightened its legal base for controlling about two trillion euros of funds. An attempt was made to link this amount to a large loan program to be made available to Ukraine. Under the new arrangement, these assets will remain frozen until Russia stops its invasion and compensates Ukraine.

Previously, the freeze period had to be extended every six months by unanimous decision of the EU’s 27 member states. The legal framework was changed because of the potential for countries relatively sympathetic to Moscow, such as Hungary and Slovakia, to use the process for political gain.

Russia’s central bank has claimed that the new rules violate basic rights. “EU regulations violate the fundamental and indispensable right to access to justice, the inviolability of property and the principle of sovereign immunity of states and their central banks,” the bank said in a statement. According to the EU Court, the case was filed on February 27.

Meanwhile, Moscow has also filed a separate lawsuit in a Russian court against the Belgium-based Euroclear depository. Euroclear Depositors manages a large portion of the frozen assets.

EU spokesman Balyasz Uzvari said the move was part of a growing series of legal challenges over Russia’s support for Ukraine. “We are fully confident about the legality of this regulation and its compatibility with EU law,” he said.