The billionaire filed a statement in court, arguing that he has no benefit from the conflict carried out by the Russian government.
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich on December 20 lost a lawsuit in which he sought the lifting of European Union sanctions imposed on him following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He became one of the oligarchs who were identified as close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The General Court rejects the claim brought by Abramovich, thereby upholding the restrictive measures taken against him,” the court said in its decision, according to Reuters.
The EU court in Brussels rejected Abramovich's claim and also rejected his claims for compensation, pointing to the billionaire's role in the Russian steel company Evraz and the fact that steel is the Russian government's main source of income.
In a statement issued on Abramovich's behalf, the oligarch said he was disappointed by the court's decision. He said the court did not consider some of the arguments used by the EU Council, including the suggestion that Abramovich benefited from the Russian government, which he said was a false assumption.
"Mr Abramovich has no ability to influence the decisions of any government, including Russia, and has in no way benefited from the war," the statement said.
“The European Council in fact did not err in its assessment by deciding to include and then retain the name of Mr Abramovich in the lists under consideration in light of his role in the Evraz group and, in particular, in its parent company,” the European Council commented on the court’s decision.
Let us remember that in 2023, Abramovich received “protection” from Russian propagandists who mercilessly criticized businessmen who maintained ties with the West. Kremlin-controlled media and news outlets have been instructed not to mention Abramovich in a negative way.
Abramovich became a figure on the blacklists of Britain, the European Union and Switzerland, but avoided falling under US restrictive measures after he took part in organizing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in the spring of 2022. Later, the billionaire said that he would use the money from the sales of his Chelsea football club to help Ukrainians. But the money has still not been transferred, and The Athletic reports that Abramovich is delaying the £2.3 billion transfer process.
