Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the EU has sanctioned around 1,800 business and private individuals. Several went before the EU court. The complaints of two Russians have now been dismissed.
The EU court has dismissed the lawsuit brought by Russian oligarch Dimitri Pumpyansky and his wife against the European Union’s sanctions. Even if Pumpyansky was not directly involved in the military offensive in Ukraine, he was active in the gas and oil industry, which served as an important source of income for the Russian government, the judges in Luxembourg ruled.
His wife has a business connection with him because she is the chairwoman of the foundation belonging to the company. The sanctions are therefore justified.
Couple saw sanctions as disproportionate
The couple had argued that they considered the sanctions to be an arbitrary and disproportionate restriction on their fundamental rights. The judges did not follow this line of argument: the freezing of assets in the EU and the ban on entry into the EU are lawful. The judgment can still be appealed to the highest court in the EU, the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The EU has put around 1,800 business and private individuals on sanctions lists since the Russian attack on Ukraine. In contrast, around 60 lawsuits are currently pending before the General Court of the EU.
EU court overturned sanctions against Prigozhin’s mother
A prominent judgment had already been made in the spring, and it represented a clear defeat for the EU. The mother of the late head of the Russian private army Wagner, Violetta Prigoschina, should not have been sanctioned, the judges decided at the time. A family relationship is not enough to impose penal measures against them.
The EU court
The European Court is the first instance of the EU in Luxembourg. It often decides on so-called restrictive measures. For example, the sister of the Syrian President, a cousin of the former Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi, once complained. The son of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has also gone before the European Court. All of these lawsuits are about the Council of the EU freezing assets or banning entry into the EU in response to current political crises.
With information from Gigi Deppe, ARD legal department