The European Court rejected the claim of billionaire Roman Abramovich, who tried to challenge the sanctions

The European Court of General Jurisdiction in Luxembourg rejected the claim of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich against the EU's decision to include him in the sanctions list against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This was reported by the press service of the court.

Abramovich’s defense noted that he “has not been active in Russia as a businessman” for more than 20 years and owns only 28% of the shares of the metallurgical holding Evraz, which operates both in Russia and abroad and is not subject to EU sanctions.

Abramovich also demanded compensation for damage to his reputation, which he previously estimated at 1 million euros. However, the court rejected the claims. According to the court's decision, Evraz plays a significant role in the Russian economy, and the ban on entry into the European Union for Abramovich, who has Portuguese and Israeli citizenship, does not violate his rights.

The EU imposed sanctions against the businessman on March 15, 2022. Shortly before this, Abramovich announced his decision to sell the Chelsea football club, and he transferred control over it to the board of trustees. The entrepreneur later sold the club for £2.3 billion. The oligarch refused to transfer money from the sale of the club to Ukraine - he insisted that part of it be given to Russians affected by the war.

The Guardian , citing documents from the Cypriot MeritServus , reported that before the start of the war, the billionaire distributed a significant part of his assets among his seven children. The newspaper wrote that they became beneficiaries of trusts where at least $4 billion are kept.

Abramovich filed claims with the European Court of General Jurisdiction to remove him from the sanctions list in May last year. Economic restrictions against the oligarch were also introduced by Great Britain, Switzerland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.