The Kremlin did not see the positive in the lifting of EU sanctions against Fridman and Aven

The EU Court's ruling on lifting sanctions against Russian businessmen Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman should be considered separately; one should not look for positivity or political motivation in this. This was stated by the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, an RBC correspondent reports.

“This is a separate case, it needs to be taken separately. Of course, representatives of big business have the opportunity to challenge these sanction decisions against themselves in the courts, they are implementing these opportunities,” Peskov emphasized.

He recalled that RUSSIA considers all sanctions illegal, unfair, destructive “and, probably, even somewhat disgraceful to the bodies that adopted them.”

Earlier today, the EU Court of Justice ruled to annul the original acts of the Council of the EU that imposed sanctions against Aven and Friedman, and thereby annulled the restrictive measures that were in force from February 2022 to March 2023. These acts justified sanctions against these businessmen on the basis of their “support” for Russian officials responsible for destabilizing Ukraine, as well as their “support” for actions and policies that undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

In March 2023, the EU Council rewrote the grounds for maintaining sanctions against Aven and Fridman, making them more formal. Sanctions based on this criterion continue to be challenged by Aven and Fridman in separate lawsuits; a decision on these complaints has not yet been made. Two businessmen remain on the EU sanctions list.

At the trial, the Russians insisted that the evidence provided by the EU Council was unreliable and untrustworthy. After the sanctions were lifted, Fridman told RBC that he was satisfied with the decision of the EU Court.

Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman ( FORBES estimates their fortunes at $4.3 billion and $13.1 billion, respectively) came under EU sanctions immediately after the start of the military operation in Ukraine , in February 2022.