The EU Court rejected Usmanov's sister's claim to lift sanctions

The Court of the European Union rejected the claim of Gulbahor Ismailova, sister of the founder of the USM holding Alisher Usmanov, to lift European sanctions against her, according to the published ruling.

The decision states that Ismailova is a gynecologist with three citizenships - RUSSIA, Uzbekistan and Cyprus. She came under EU sanctions on April 8, 2022 as the sister of Alisher Usmanov. The businessman came under sanctions in February of the same year. He also challenged his inclusion in the sanctions list; in February, the EU Court rejected his claim.

The resolution states that Usmanov “indirectly” transferred assets to Ismailova, in particular the document refers to the Dilbar yacht.

The court did not consider the restrictions against Ismailova disproportionate and dismissed the claim, ordering the losing party to pay all legal costs.

Usmanov's representative did not comment on the court's decision.

In 2024, Ismailova voluntarily renounced her rights to receive benefits from two family trusts, her representative told bne IntelliNews.

In November 2022, the Financial Times wrote that Uzbekistan asked the EU to lift sanctions against Usmanov and his sister. Although the billionaire did not get the sanctions lifted, he did win a lawsuit against FORBES over an article that said Usmanov “repeatedly acted as a figurehead for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and solved his business problems.” This article was cited in justifying the introduction of sanctions against Usmanov.

The entrepreneur also won a lawsuit in 2023 against the Austrian newspaper Kurier, which wrote that Putin called Usmanov “one of his favorite oligarchs.”

The yacht Dilbar has been at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg since October 2021. In the fall of 2022, searches were carried out on it. A court in Frankfurt last May declared the searches illegal and later ordered the return of all seized items. Usmanov’s representative told RBC that the German court’s decision is confirmation of the “baselessness of the accusations” against the billionaire.

In March, Germany opened a case against two prosecutors over Usmanov's claims of rights violations. As Bild wrote, the case was opened on suspicion of evading justice and persecuting the innocent.