The EU has now imposed sanctions on around 1,200 Russians, mostly oligarchs and their families. Not everyone puts up with that. Some are suing in Luxembourg against the penalties. Even if they are right, the sanctions could remain in place.
Yacht confiscated, accounts frozen, entry bans – the EU has imposed such sanctions on more than 1,000 Russians since February. No Russian oligarch will starve to death, but it is a hindrance for them. That’s why not everyone wants to put up with it. At least 20 oligarchs have filed lawsuits in the European Union (EU) General Court in Luxembourg since the start of the Ukraine war. Among them are well-known names, such as that of former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, the two founders of the Alfa Group, Mikhail Fridman and Petro Aven, Alisher Umanov, industrial tycoon and sixth richest Russian. There are also some anonymously filed lawsuits.
After the sanctions were announced, they only had two months to file a lawsuit in Luxembourg. That’s not as easy for the billionaires as you might think. After all, they must be looked after by lawyers who are familiar with EU law. Logically, these lawyers are mostly based in the EU, and most of the high-class law firms there have stopped looking after Russian clients out of protest or image reasons.
The oligarchs are therefore now mostly looked after by British lawyers. Some of them accept the mandate voluntarily, others have no choice. In the UK there is a law whereby a solicitor cannot refuse a client if it concerns his legal speciality. Although British lawyers have no longer been obliged to represent them before EU courts since Brexit, many have obtained a license in Ireland so that they can still practice before EU courts at all. This allows them to be conscripted by oligarchs.
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Such a process is not cheap. Abramovich’s attorneys – he hired a law firm from the US – reported their hourly wage as $1,450 under the US Transparency Act. The only advantage: sanctioned persons are allowed to pay these costs from their otherwise blocked assets.
In Luxembourg, the oligarchs want to end the personal sanctions against them, or at least have the sentence lifted until a judge has ruled on it. Experts see mixed chances. Between 2008 and 2015, the General Court of the European Union lifted around two-thirds of all sanctions that were appealed against. The devil is often in the details. EU authorities must explain precisely why they are sanctioning an individual and also why this measure, which is usually limited to one year, is being extended. In the past, EU authorities have been sloppy when it comes to extensions. For example, it was often not considered whether the sanctioned persons had the opportunity to defend themselves against the sanctions.
Lawyers assume that the sanctions in the current cases are better justified. Especially the eastern member states like Poland and the Baltic states have long collected information about which oligarchs are networked with the Kremlin and how. Proximity to Putin is the main reason why the EU puts the billionaires and their families on the lists.
If the Court of the European Union does not uphold the lawsuits, the oligarchs can appeal to the European Court of Justice at a higher level. But even if one of the two instances agrees, they could not get their money. First, it will be months before a judge makes a decision. Secondly, it only removes the current sanction. However, the EU issues a new list of sanctions every year, which from a legal point of view has the same effect as newly imposed sanctions.
Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych knows what that means. He was first sanctioned in 2014 for embezzling state funds. Since then, the sanctions against him have been renewed every year. Yanukovych complains about it every year. Two proceedings are also currently pending in Luxembourg. The Ukrainian even wins the majority of these lawsuits. Nevertheless, a year later he ended up on the sanctions list again. The EU just needs to write a new justification for it. This year, however, his sanction is only valid until September 6th.
“The only way to get off the sanctions list is to do lengthy political lobbying,” Andreas Geiger told Politico. He is the head of a German lobbying firm and law firm that has been dealing with the issue for years. And not even that could currently help the Russian oligarchs. The new EU sanctions package also includes a ban on lobbying on their behalf.
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