Richard Blakele

Frozen Russian funds: can the courts let it go?

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, billions in assets frozen pursuant to sanctions represent a potentially available source of funds to satisfy the obligations of defaulting Russian debtors. In practice, however, unlocking sanctioned funds is not straightforward. In this Spotlight article, Richard Blakeley considers the extent to which EU member state and UK courts can permit the use of frozen funds to satisfy claims against defaulting Russian debtors following the judgment of the CJEU in Case C‑340/20 Bank Sepah v Overseas Financial Limited and Oaktree Finance Limited.