Fridman and Aven, both major shareholders in Alfa Group, one of Russia’s largest private investment groups, have been under EU sanctions since late February 2022, shortly after Russia launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The EU called Fridman a “major Russian financier and facilitator of Putin’s inner circle” when it placed him on the sanctions list, while it said Aven was “one of the most close to Vladimir Putin.
But on Wednesday, the court ruled that even if there could be “proximity between Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman and (Russian President) Vladimir Putin”, there was not enough evidence to prove that the men of businesses had supported the Kremlin’s war against Kiev, or that they “supported actions or policies” that harm Ukraine.
The General Court is one of the chambers of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Politices
