Russian billionaire Abramovich loses legal challenge against EU sanctions (updated)

Evraz

20/12/2023 10:14

(Adds background and detail from paragraph 1 onwards)
       BRUSSELS, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Russian billionaire Roman
Abramovich on Wednesday lost a legal challenge to overturn
sanctions imposed on him by the European Union in the wake of
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, after an EU court upheld the
restrictions.
    After President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into
Ukraine in February 2022, the EU sanctioned Russian officials
and a host of Russian businessmen, such as Abramovich, while
freezing hundreds of billions of dollars of Russian assets.
    Abramovich had filed a legal challenge against this.
    The court, which also dimissed Abramovich's claims for
compensation, noted his role in the Russian steel company Evraz
 EVRE.L  and the fact that steel provided a major source of
revenue to the Russian government.
    "The General Court dismisses the action brought by Mr
Abramovich, thereby upholding the restrictive measures taken
against him," the EU court said in a ruling.
    "The Council did not in fact err in its assessment by
deciding to include then maintain Mr Abramovich’s name on the
lists at issue, in the light of his role in the Evraz group and,
in particular, its parent company," it added, referring to the
sanctions lists.
    Abramovich, who also holds Israeli citizenship and is a
former owner of Premier League club Chelsea, became one of the
world's most powerful businessmen after the 1991 break-up of the
Soviet Union. Forbes estimates his net worth at $9.2 billion.

 (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by GV De Clercq and
Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
 ((sudip.kargupta@thomsonreuters.com;))