The EU court refused to lift sanctions against the family of Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko - media

The European Court has dismissed the lawsuits of Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko and his wife Olena regarding the lifting of European Union sanctions. This is reported by DW, writes UNN.

Details

It is noted that the Russian billionaire and his wife Olena Tymchenko tried through the EU Court to achieve the lifting of the obligation to report on their assets located in the jurisdiction of the European Union. In particular, it applies to all those on the sanctions list. However, the court in Luxembourg decided that the EU Council had the right to establish such an obligation.

Supplement

Gennady Timchenko is a Russian businessman, oligarch and one of the richest people in Russia. In 1991, Timchenko began working in the Finnish division of the Urals Finland Oy joint venture, and in 1994 he became a co-founder of Kinex. From 1997 to 2001, he served as CEO of International Petroleum Products Oy (later known as Urals Finland Oy), which was an important step in his business career.

In 1997, together with his partner Torbjörn Törnqvist, he founded Gunvor, one of the largest trading companies in the energy sector. In 2003, he became a co-founder of the Transoil oil company. In the early 2000s, Timchenko moved with his family to permanent residence in Switzerland, retaining his Russian and Finnish citizenship.

In 2007, he created Volga Resources Holding, registered in Luxembourg, which was renamed Volga Group in 2013. In 2009, Timchenko acquired a large stake in Novatek OJSC and became a member of the company's board of directors.

In 2014, after the United States imposed sanctions against Gennady Timchenko due to his close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the businessman was forced to sell his shares in Gunvor and other companies. The sanctions were imposed because the US State Department pointed to a direct link between Timchenko's activities in the energy sector and Putin. The Russian president has repeatedly emphasized his long-standing friendship with Timchenko.

In 2018, Gennady Timchenko ranked fifth on Forbes' list of Russia's richest businessmen with a fortune of $16 billion.

Recall

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Russian oligarchs linked to Putin earned more than $11 billion in dividends from companies linked to the military industry in 2023 and early 2024, despite sanctions.

In particular, the list includes billionaire Gennady Timchenko and Tetyana Lytvynenko, who received a stake in PhosAgro even before her husband Volodymyr Lytvynenko was sanctioned by the US in 2023.