Two Russian oligarchs have won a surprise victory against EU sanctions over Moscow’s war against Ukraine but remain under punitive measures for the time being.
The European court of justice ruled that the European Council had not presented enough evidence to establish that Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman were involved in efforts that “undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”.
EU’s top court annulled sanctions imposed on the pair from 2022-23.
Aven and Fridman were placed on the EU sanctions list shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. In announcing the sanctions in February 2022, the European Council called Aven “one of Vladimir Putin’s closest oligarchs” and stated that Fridman “has managed to cultivate strong ties to the administration of Vladimir Putin, and has been referred to as a top Russian financier and enabler of Putin’s inner circle”.
Along with dozens of other Russian oligarchs, Aven and Fridman challenged the sanctions in EU courts, describing them as “spurious and unfounded”.
The court of justice ruled on Wednesday that the billionaires should not have been included on the list between February 2022 and March 2023. The ruling will be seen as a major setback to the EU’s sanctions regime against Moscow. The European Council can appeal.
An EU decision in March 2023 reimposed the restrictive measures on the two men and they remain sanctioned. Wednesday’s ruling is likely to pave the way for the billionaires to have their sanctions lifted in a separate appeal against the March 2023 action.
The two businessmen, who made their money in Russia from oil, banking and retail, are the most high-profile Russians to have a top court rule against their inclusion on the EU’s sanctions list.
They remain on the sanctions list of the UK, where the two men resided before the war.
Aven, who has an estimated £4.3bn fortune, owns Ingliston House, on 8.5 acres of land in a gated estate next to Wentworth golf course in Surrey.
Ukraine-born Fridman, who was listed as the UK’s 11th wealthiest person in the Sunday Times rich list with an estimated £11bn fortune, owns Athlone House, a £65m mansion in Highgate, north London.
Both men have given what has been seen as limited criticism of Putin’s war in Ukraine, with Fridman saying in the early weeks of the conflict that it was a “tragedy” and that war “can never be the answer”. Aven has told the Financial Times that he felt compassion for the plight of Ukrainians since the start of the fighting, but he has not directly addressed the war.
Fridman told the business outlet RBK on Wednesday that he was “satisfied” with the court’s ruling. Aven has not yet commented on the matter.
Russian opposition figures criticised the court’s decision and argued that the two oligarchs had not been vocal enough about Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“I’d like to ask European politicians: what’s changed since you sanctioned Russian oligarchs?,” Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, wrote on X. “Neither Fridman nor Aven have spoken out against the war or made any efforts to stop it – they’ve simply hired expensive lawyers and influential lobbyists.”
Maria Pevchikh, a close Navalny associate who has lobbied for the introduction of sanctions against Russian individuals close to Putin, said: “Today’s date should be marked as the day when European sanctions policy completely collapsed. It’s a day of declaration of impunity and irresponsibility for the war. We can also designate it as a ‘Day of Oligarch Triumph’.”
