(Luxembourg) – The European Union’s General Court upheld sanctions against several prominent Russian figures and entities linked to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine in a decisive ruling on September 11, 2024. The court’s decision confirmed that the sanctions imposed on Gennady Timchenko, Mikhail Fridman, and Russia’s National Settlement Depository remain valid.
The sanctions were part of a broader EU strategy targeting individuals and organizations supporting Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022. The General Court’s ruling rejected the appeals filed by these entities challenging the EU’s measures.
Gennady Timchenko, a major Russian investor and close associate of President Vladimir Putin, and Mikhail Fridman, a Ukrainian born billionaire with significant financial interests, were among those whose appeals were dismissed. The court also upheld sanctions against the National Settlement Depository, a Moscow-based financial institution accused of aiding the Kremlin’s war efforts.
The depository, which holds approximately 70 billion euros ($77 billion) in assets with Euroclear, failed to prove that the EU’s sanctions were incorrect. The EU has frozen around $300 billion in Russian assets since the invasion began.
In a separate development, the General Court lifted sanctions against Violetta Prigozhina, the mother of the late Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner Group. The court found insufficient evidence linking her directly to her son’s activities related to the war.
