Belgium has become the first country to seize state property of Russia. Belgian court bailiffs notified the representatives of the Russian side, except for diplomatic representatives, of a court decision. The GML group of former shareholders of Yukos Oil Company filed a lawsuit to a Belgian arbitration court that ruled in favor of GML. In court, the claimant accused the Russian side of “systematic failure to voluntarily follow” the rulings of international legal institutions and expressed the worries about receiving the due sum. The list of properties to be seized includes the property of several Russian banks operating on the territory of Belgium and EUROCONTROL that works for pan-European air traffic management. Russian companies also received an order which obliged them to provide information on available funds, property of the Russian Federation, and debts to Russia within two weeks. The Russian authorities officially stated that they did not agree with the court decision. In particular, Russia’s Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov said to journalists that Russia would take measures to prevent the decision implementation.
