EU court annuls sanctions on two Russian businessmen

A European Union court on Wednesday annulled EU sanctions on two Russian businessmen, Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman.

The ruling by the European General Court applies to sanctions imposed on the two men between February 2022 and March 2023 for their connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The EU has slapped multiple rounds of sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine war targeting Russia's economy and top government officials as well business figures with connections to Putin's government.

However, EU member states failed to provide sufficient evidence to justify their decision to target both men with an asset freeze, a statement from the Luxembourg-based court said.

EU countries had argued that both men, as shareholders of the Alfa Group - a conglomerate including Alfa Bank, one of Russia's major banks - provided financial support to Russian officials who were behind the attack on Ukraine.

Aven and Fridman were also associated with other individuals subject to EU sanctions as well as connected to Putin, EU countries contended.

In the decision to annul the sanctions, the court said that EU countries were able to establish "a degree of proximity" between both men and Putin.

This basis however was not enough to show that the two men "supported actions or policies that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine," the court said.

Sanctions are regularly renewed by EU countries every six months. No further evidence to target Aven and Fridman was provided by EU countries during these renewals, according to the court.

For the period after March 2023, Aven and Fridman are challenging their inclusion in the EU sanctions in a separate case.

The decision from the European General Court may be appealed at the European Court of Justice, the bloc's highest legal chamber.