An investment fund from the USA, known as Noble Capital, has filed a lawsuit against the Russian Federation demanding a colossal sum of $225.8 billion. According to the plaintiffs, modern Russia, being the successor of the Russian Empire, should pay off debts on bonds that were issued more than a hundred years ago for American investors.
The lawsuit was filed in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, and among the defendants are not only the state itself but also important financial institutions, including the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, and the National Wealth Fund (NWF). Representatives of Noble Capital, who consider themselves the legitimate successors of the owners of pre-revolutionary bonds, argue that Russia's refusal to repay the debts violates international norms regarding succession.
Interestingly, the fund is seeking permission to use frozen Russian assets to pay off this "historical debt" against the backdrop of economic sanctions. It is worth noting that after February 2022, Western countries froze about $300 billion of the Russian Federation's gold and foreign exchange reserves, most of which are held in the European depository Euroclear.
The process is ongoing, and the Russian side is required to submit an official response to the lawsuit by January 29, 2026, as stated in the latest court ruling. Lawyers note that such lawsuits regarding Tsarist debts rarely lead to actual payments due to the age of the obligations and political factors concerning the recognition of debts from old regimes. Nevertheless, the current situation with blocked assets gives the case a new legal context.
