EU court lifts sanctions against two Russian oligarchs
10 April 2024 12:17
The Court of Justice of the European Union has upheld a lawsuit filed by Alfa-Bank shareholders Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman to remove them from the sanctions list. This is stated in the court’s press release, according to Komersant ukrainskyi 
The EU General Court has cancelled the inclusion of two oligarchs in the lists of persons subject to restrictive measures. In its ruling, the court found that the reasons given in the original sanctions acts lacked sufficient justification, so the inclusion of Aven and Friedman in the challenged lists was unjustified.
The Court considers that, although the grounds set out by the Council may be relevant, they do not demonstrate that Aven and Friedman supported actions or policies that threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, or that they provided material or financial support to Russian persons responsible for the annexation of Crimea or the destabilisation of Ukraine.
An appeal against this decision can be filed within 2 months and 10 days from the date of notification.
Who is Friedman?
Mikhail Fridman is a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin, co-owner and chairman of the supervisory board of the Alfa Group consortium, and a native of Lviv. He remains one of the largest asset owners in Ukraine.
Back in 2018, he was included in the so-called Putin List of the US Treasury Department, a list of more than 200 oligarchs close to the Russian president who could be subject to sanctions.
On 28 February 2022, Friedman became one of the first to be subjected to the first significant sanctions imposed by the European Union, which resulted in him partially losing control of his Ukrainian assets.
At the end of 2023, the government was able to deprive Friedman of some of his property, first by arresting shares in IDS Group Ukraine, the producer of Morshynska, and then by nationalising Sens Bank.
Today, the oligarch formally retains one major Ukrainian asset – Kyivstar, the market’s largest mobile phone operator with approximately 24 million subscribers.
What Friedman is suspected of
The Security Service of Ukraine is looking for Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman.
Friedman is suspected under Part 3 of Article 110-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – financing of actions committed with the aim of violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order or seizure of state power, change of the boundaries of the territory or state border of Ukraine, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy. The oligarch faces up to 8 years in prison with confiscation of property.
It is noted that the oligarch “disappeared” on 10 November 2023 and is hiding from the pre-trial investigation authorities.
Sanctions against Friedman
on 20 October 2022, Volodymyr Zelenskyy imposed sanctions against Russian companies and businessmen, including Mikhail Fridman, who owns ABH Ukraine Limited.
In February 2022, Friedman’s stake in Kyivstar was frozen in accordance with US and EU sanctions.
In July 2023, Ukraine nationalised Sense Bank (Friedman’s former Alfa Bank). In October 2023, the SBU seized Friedman’s assets worth UAH 17 billion.
