Euroclear, the Brussels-based financial services provider managing billions in frozen Russian assets, has had to hire bodyguards for its management team.
Belgian news outlets De Morgen and Humo reported the information on Thursday. In December, a suspicious drone was spotted near Euroclear’s offices when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was visiting Belgium.
Euroclear has contracted French private security firm Amarante to protect CEO Valérie Urbain and the seven other board members. This detail comes from a joint investigation by De Morgen, Humo, EUobserver, and the French newspaper Le Monde. Three anonymous sources have confirmed the news.
The decision to hire security was made in the second half of 2024. It was influenced by German media revelations about a Russian plot to assassinate the CEO of Rheinmetall, the German firm supplying weapons to Ukraine.
The unidentified drone was spotted near Euroclear’s headquarters in December last year, coinciding with President Zelensky’s visit to Brussels.
Euroclear manages nearly €200 billion in frozen Russian assets. Belgium taxes the profits that Euroclear earns from reinvesting this money and uses those funds to provide military aid to Ukraine.
