Belgian financial services group Euroclear has filed a lawsuit against Russia's Central Bank in an effort to block a Moscow court ruling ordering the company to pay more than $250 billion in damages related to frozen Russian assets in Europe.

The legal action follows a ruling issued last month by a Moscow arbitration court, which upheld the Russian Central Bank's claim against Euroclear totaling 18.2 trillion rubles ($231.26 billion), The Caspian Post reports, citing The Moscow Times.

Euroclear has rejected the claim, describing it as "without merit."

Euroclear holds a significant portion of the approximately 300 billion euros ($342 billion) in Russian state assets that were frozen by Western countries following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Moscow court subsequently approved the Russian Central Bank's request for immediate enforcement of the multibillion-dollar judgment, prompting concerns that Russian authorities could seek to seize Euroclear's assets located outside Europe.

In response, Euroclear filed its own legal challenge last week in a commercial court in Brussels, according to Belgian newspaper L'Echo.

Euroclear argues that the closed-door proceedings in Moscow were "fundamentally unfair" and maintains that only Belgian courts have the legal jurisdiction to adjudicate matters involving the Brussels-based financial institution. The clearing house has also accused Russia's Central Bank of breaching contractual obligations by pursuing the damages claim.

A preliminary hearing in the case took place last Thursday in Brussels, with legal representatives of Russia's Central Bank in attendance.

The Russian Central Bank initiated legal proceedings against Euroclear in Moscow in December after the European Union decided to use proceeds generated from frozen Russian assets to help finance Ukraine.