The General Court of the European Union confirmed the restrictive measures adopted by the European Union in June 2022 against the Russian National Settlement Depository (NSD), in a judgment handed down on Wednesday 11 September (Case T-494/22).
NSD, which provides securities custody and bank settlement services, challenged its inclusion on the list of legal and private persons subject to restrictive measures decided by the Council of the EU on the grounds that it plays an essential role in the functioning of the Russian financial system.
In its judgment, the General Court dismissed NSD’s action on the grounds that the Russian company failed to demonstrate that the Council erred in finding that it was a systemically important financial institution which played an essential role in the functioning of Russia’s financial system. It notes that NSD provides the Russian government with material or financial support enabling it to mobilise financial resources to continue its military aggression against Ukraine.
However, the European Court emphasises that the authorities of the Member States, which implement the European sanctions, must ensure that the interference with the property rights of NSD’s customers, as a result of the measures targeting the complainant, complies with the conditions laid down in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (Article 52), such as the proportionality of measures restricting certain rights and the pursuit of objectives of general EU interest.
These customers also have legal remedies available to them before the national courts to claim infringement of their property rights.
To see the judgment of the Court of Justice: https://aeur.eu/f/ddo (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)