European Court Upholds Sanctions against Russian Oligarch
The General Court of the European Union has rejected the appeal of Russian oligarch German Khan against sanctions imposed on him. This was reported by Bloomberg.
"German Khan, co-founder of investment company LetterOne, has lost his legal battle against EU sanctions imposed over his alleged close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his influential role in Russia," the report says.
Khan was included in the EU sanctions list as a co-owner of Alfa Group, which he owned together with another Russian oligarch, Mikhail Fridman.
The European Union said Khan "maintains a close relationship" with Putin and "continues to provide him with substantial services", while the owners of Alfa Group receive "business and legal benefits from this relationship".
Khan co-founded LetterOne with Friedman, Alexei Kuzmichev and Peter Aven. They all resigned from the company's board of directors after being sanctioned in March 2022.
Since 2018, Khan has been on the US Treasury Department's so-called Putin List, which includes more than 200 Russians close to the Russian president who may be subject to sanctions.
Since 15 March 2022, Khan has been under sanctions by all EU countries.
The European Union has imposed sanctions on 1,800 individuals and organisations since Russia attacked Ukraine, starting with the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and ending with the full-scale invasion of the country last February.
Earlier, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine imposed a fine on German chemicals group BASF and Alfa-Bank's co-owner investment company LetterOne Holdings (Luxembourg) for concentration in 2019 by establishing Wintershall Dea in Germany without obtaining the appropriate permit.
The regulator decided to fine the companies UAH 25 million each.
As The Gaze previously reported, at the beginning of November, the United Kingdom announced new sanctions against 29 individuals and organisations associated with the gold and oil industries of the Russian Federation. "The sanctions will hit those who have provided assistance to Putin," said British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.