EU sanctions are legal
Abramovich suffers defeat in court
December 20, 2023, 1:09 p.m
After the attack on Ukraine, the EU also freezes the assets of the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. This now fails with a lawsuit against it. The court in Luxembourg also rejected an application for damages.
The Russian oligarch and former owner of Chelsea FC, Roman Abramovich, has suffered a defeat in the EU court. The court declared the EU sanctions against him legal and dismissed his lawsuit in Luxembourg.
Because of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU has so far imposed sanctions on almost 2,000 people and organizations. In March 2022, she froze Abramovich’s assets. The reason for this was that he had long-standing and close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to the EU, he is active in economic sectors that served as an important source of income for the Russian government.
Abramovich sued, but unsuccessfully. The judges have now decided that the Council of the European Union did not make an error of judgment when Abramovich was placed on the sanctions list. This will not disproportionately restrict his fundamental rights, especially since there is the possibility of using the frozen assets to cover basic needs.
His application for compensation of one million euros for damage to his reputation was also rejected. The judgment can still be appealed to the highest European court, the European Court of Justice.