Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina said Tuesday that the Bank of Russia intends to dispute the block placed on its gold and foreign exchange reserves and is now preparing cases.

“This freezing of gold and foreign exchange reserves was unprecedented, so we are going to work on legal claims, and we are getting ready to put them forward. This block on the gold and foreign exchange reserves of such a large country is unprecedented on a global scale,” she said, emphasizing that the regulator will continue to battle the West’s infringement on Russia’s assets.

Additional currency controls had to be implemented as a result of the freezing of a portion of the reserves, according to Nabiullina.

“We have introduced these currency regulations. I know that many enterprises also complained a lot in terms of foreign economic activity, when it was difficult to pay. But it was a forced measure. If we had these gold and foreign exchange reserves in possession, and had this part not been frozen, there would have been no need for such draconian measures on the movement of capital,” she explained.

At the end of February, the EU voted to ban transactions related to the management of the reserves and assets of the Bank of Russia, including transactions with any legal entity, or legal entities or bodies operating on behalf of or under the direction of the Bank of Russia.

Nonetheless, the EU authorities may approve transactions if they are strictly necessary to ensure the continent-wide bloc or a single EU member state’s financial stability.

Foreign ministers from 27 EU nations had previously supported a ban on any dealings with the Bank of Russia, as well as the freezing of its assets.

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