The Court of Justice of the European Union, based in Luxembourg, has removed sanctions against two prominent businessmen, Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman, according to a report by Reuters, which referenced documents released on the court’s website on April 10.
The court’s statement indicated, “The General Court upholds the requests of Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman and annuls both the initial acts and the acts maintaining the lists of [EU] restrictive measures for the period from 28 February 2022 to 15 March 2023.”
The court reasoned that while the evidence presented by the Council of the EU might suggest some connections between billionaires and Russian leaders, it does not prove their involvement in actions or policies that compromise the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine, nor does it show that they provided substantial or financial support to Russian leaders involved in the annexation of Crimea or the destabilization of Ukraine, or that they gained from these leaders.
EU Sanctions List Expansion
Earlier in February the 13th package of sanctions against Russia was prepared and adopted by the EU ahead of the second anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. It is directed against 106 individuals and 88 legal entities who contribute to the continuation of hostilities. The list includes individuals and companies operating in the military and defense industry. This time, intermediaries from such countries as China, Turkey, India, and Serbia, who supply military equipment, are on the sanctions list. Despite the scale of the sanctions, some cases are controversial and cause heated debate within the EU.
Usmanov’s Case
The famous Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov was included in the 3rd package of sanctions on February 28, 2022, for particularly close ties with President Putin and his contribution to destabilizing the situation in Ukraine. However, since then, he has not abandoned efforts to challenge the legality of such inclusion, insisting on the libelous nature of such accusations.
The last Usmanov’s attempt to challenge the EU sanctions ended in early February 2024 with the decision of the European Court to reject the billionaire’s claim. Many legal experts criticized this refusal. They noted the lack of public commentary on the judgment, as well as the selective approach of the EU court. The reluctance to the serious investigation of this case, faulty reasoning, and readiness to uphold any sanctions, regardless of the evidence of their justification, were also stressed by some observers.
Partial Success in German Courts
The controversy of this case lies in the fact that Alisher Usmanov has already won some courts on the way to lifting sanctions. In particular, on January 19, 2024, the District Court of Hamburg recognized several allegations that formed the basis of the businessman’s accusations as unproven. The court considered unfounded some statements by Forbes magazine, which were taken by the EU Council as true. Moreover, the court prohibited Forbes from further disseminating these statements as false.
