EU court rules in favour of Russian oligarchs Fridman and Aven in blow to sanctions regime

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A top EU court has annulled sanctions against billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, finding there was insufficient evidence the two oligarchs backed the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine.

The ruling is a major blow to the EU’s sanctions regime against Moscow, which has targeted over 1,700 people and over 400 entities, accusing them of supporting or enabling the invasion of Ukraine.

The EU’s General Court concluded the EU did not present enough evidence to show the billionaires were involved in efforts to undermine Ukraine, potentially setting a precedent for other appeals.

The ruling found there may be “a degree of proximity between Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman and Vladimir Putin or his entourage” but said the EU had failed to “demonstrate that [the men had] supported actions or policies” that harmed Ukraine, backed key Russian officials, or benefited from their decisions.

Aven and Fridman are the most high-profile Russians to have their EU sanctions overturned. Three less well-known Russian businessmen had their sanctions lifted in September, while the EU dropped restrictions against tech founder Arkady Volozh in March.

Born in Ukraine, Fridman made millions in oil and telecoms, banking and retail in Russia before his arrival in London nearly a decade ago. He was one of the UK’s wealthiest men until he faced sanctions over the Ukraine war.

Fridman returned to Moscow in October, joining his business partner German Khan. He and Aven, who holds a Latvian passport and lives in Latvia, declined to comment.

Like many of the businessmen sanctioned by the EU since February 2022, they were sanctioned on the grounds that they “supported actions and policies that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”.