The Court of the European Union has ruled against Russian oligarchs Gennady Timchenko, Elena Timchenko, Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven, and German Khan, denying their appeal to lift European sanctions imposed on them. The decision was announced by the EU Court on September 11, according to Radio Free Europe.
It is also noted that the National Settlement Depository of Russia, which is the main custodian of Russian securities, was unsuccessful in challenging the European sanctions.
“The NSD provides financial services that are of significant value to both the Russian government and the Russian Central Bank,” states the EU Court’s decision. “This enterprise offers substantial material or financial support to the Russian government by providing its financial resources to continue activities that destabilize Ukraine.”
The restrictions on Timchenkos, Fridman, Aven, and Khan require them to declare their assets and cooperate with competent national authorities in the EU.
They attempted to prove in court that they had no connection to the Russian war in Ukraine. For instance, billionaire Timchenko argued in his lawsuit that his close ties with President Vladimir Putin did not imply that he was an ally in the war in Ukraine. However, EU Council lawyers insisted that Timchenko, referred to in the media as “Putin’s chief treasurer,” contributes to the Russian economy through his connections with Bank Rossiya.
Previously, some Russians have managed to challenge EU sanctions in the EU Court, leading to their removal from the sanctions lists. On September 11, for instance, EU ambassadors removed Nikita Mazepin, son of Russian billionaire Dmitry Mazepin, and Violetta Prigozhina, the mother of the late founder of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, from the lists.
The EU Council failed to properly justify the economic connections between Mazepin Jr. and his father in court. Violetta Prigozhina proved in court that she had not been a co-owner of her son’s businesses since 2017.
Additionally, after successes in the EU Court, sanctions were not extended against Yandex founder Arkady Volozh, businessman Sergey Mndoyants, and Joseph Hambalek, head of the Russian nationalist biker club Night Wolves in Europe, who is a Slovak citizen.
Tags: EU european union oligarchs Russia russia ukraine war sanctions sanctions against russia Ukraine
