EU court lifts sanctions on two Russian billionaires

April 10 (UPI) -- The European Union's General Court Wednesday lifted sanctions on Russian billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven.

The court removed the pair from the EU sanctions list as it said there was not enough evidence to prove they supported Russia's war against Ukraine.

In a statement, the General Court said it decided that, "none of the reasons set out in the initial acts is sufficiently substantiated and that the inclusion of Mr. Aven and Mr. Fridman on the lists at issue was therefore not justified."

The two billionaires are major shareholders in Alfa Group, a conglomerate that includes Alfa Bank, a major Russian bank.

The court said the European Council put Fridman and Aven on the sanctions list in February 2022 in response to Russia's Ukraine invasion.

"According to the Council, they provided material or financial support to Russian decision-makers, and supported actions and policies that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Mr. Aven and Mr Fridman, on the contrary, submit that the evidence adduced by the Council is neither reliable nor credible, and that the Council's assessments are incorrect," the court said.

The court's action annuls the action putting the two on a sanctions list. It can be appealed, limited to points of law only, within 2 months and 10 days.

"Sanctioning them was a counterproductive mistake. They have nothing to do on the EU's list nor any other list. We hope that today's strong signal will be heard in the EU and outside," Lawyers for Fridman and Aven said in a statement to Politico.

When the EU put the Russian billionaires on the sanctions list Aven was called "one of Vladimir Putin's closest oligarchs." In its statement of reasons Aven was sanctioned, the EU said he "does not operate independently" of Putin's demands.

The EU said Fridman had strong ties to Putin's administration and "has been referred to as a top Russian financier and enabler of Putin's inner circle."

The General Court said that while the EU may have established "a degree of proximity between Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman and Vladimir Putin or his entourage, they do not demonstrate that they have supported actions or policies that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine."

The court statement added there was not enough evidence that the two billionaires "have provided material or financial support to the Russian decision-makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea or the destabilization of Ukraine, or that they have benefited from those decision-makers."