Russian war of aggression
EU court overturns sanctions decisions against oligarchs
Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin applauds the then Alfa Bank boss Pyotr Aven (r) after being awarded the Order for Services to the Fatherland (archive photo). photo
© Alexander Nemenov/POOL AFP/AP/dpa
The EU court again overturns sanctions decisions made because of the Russian attack on Ukraine. This time it’s about two particularly dazzling figures.
However, the decision does not mean that Fridman and Awen must be immediately removed from the EU sanctions list. On the one hand, the judgment can still be taken before the highest European court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ). On the other hand, the Council of the EU has already issued new sanctions decisions against the two men, who are not initially affected by the judgment.
Fridman and Awen are founders and important shareholders of the large financial group Alfa-Group. The EU imposed punitive measures against the billionaires shortly after the Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022. She froze funds and issued an entry ban. The US government also sanctioned them. Last year, however, several Russian opposition members spoke out in favor of removing Fridman and others from the sanctions list.
The EU justified the sanctions by saying that Fridman and Awen had financially supported Russian decision-makers and thereby undermined Ukraine’s territorial integrity. However, the judges now decided that these allegations were not sufficiently substantiated and that inclusion in the list was therefore unjustified. Even if it is possible to confirm that the two people are close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, this does not prove that they support measures that threaten Ukraine.
Almost three weeks ago, the EU court overturned the sanctions against ex-Formula 1 racing driver Nikita Masepin. This was justified by the fact that the family relationship with his father – a businessman with an alleged close friendship with Kremlin leader Putin – was not enough to assume that he was linked to him by common interests.
A prominent verdict had already been made last year – and represented a clear defeat for the EU. The mother of the now deceased head of the Russian private army Wagner, Violetta Prigoschina, should not have been sanctioned, the judges decided at the time and argued in a similar way to Masepin : A family relationship is not enough to impose punitive measures against them. Meanwhile, many other people who were sanctioned have temporarily failed in their lawsuits, including the former owner of Chelsea FC, Roman Abramowitsch.
Because of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU has so far imposed sanctions on almost 2,000 people and organizations. There are currently several dozen lawsuits against the punitive measures pending before the courts.
Lawsuit Awen Lawsuit Fridman