Hungary threatens to block EU sanctions against Russians unless Fridman is removed from list - FT
Kyiv • UNN
Hungary threatens to block the extension of EU sanctions against 2,000 Russians, demanding the exclusion of oligarch Fridman. Restrictions expire on Saturday unless all EU countries agree to an extension.
Hungary has threatened to block the EU from extending sanctions against about 2,000 Russians unless oligarch Mikhail Fridman is removed from the list, the Financial Times reports, UNN writes.
Details
Travel restrictions and asset freeze orders imposed on politicians and businessmen believed to have supported or facilitated Russia's war against Ukraine will expire on Saturday unless all 27 EU countries agree to extend them for another six months.
The Hungarian ambassador to the EU, it is stated, "demanded that Fridman, who made his fortune in Russia before moving to London ten years ago, be removed from the list as the price for Budapest to allow all other sanctions to be extended," according to four officials briefed on the discussions.
EU ambassadors are meeting in Brussels on Thursday after several days of negotiations that failed to reach a compromise. Kyiv's staunchest allies in the Baltic region oppose any easing of EU restrictions against Moscow, especially before any US-brokered ceasefire talks are concluded.
According to three officials, Luxembourg supports efforts to exclude Fridman from the list.
Last year, Fridman filed a lawsuit against Luxembourg, where his stake in London-based investment company LetterOne is located, seeking $15.8 billion in damages related to the sanctions.
Fridman declined to comment.
Hungary reportedly initially requested the removal of eight names from the list, including other Russian billionaires such as Alisher Usmanov and Fridman's longtime partner Petr Aven. But Budapest dropped some of those demands, three officials said, insisting on Fridman's exclusion.
In April 2024, Fridman and Aven won a case in the EU court, which found that the EU was wrong to add them to the list in 2022. The court said it did not provide sufficient evidence of their close ties to Putin. The oligarchs' victory was the biggest blow to the EU's sanctions regime against Russia since the invasion.
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But they remain subject to a second EU sanctions decision in 2023 due to their business presence in Russia. Latvia has appealed the first ruling in favor of the oligarchs, while Fridman and Aven are challenging the second ruling.
In addition, EU measures targeting the Russian economy, including the freezing of nearly €200 billion in sovereign assets, are due to be extended in July.