EU Court of Justice rejects former Russian minister Shuvalov’s appeal against sanctions

Former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov has lost his appeal in the EU Court of Justice and will remain on the EU sanctions list. The decision was made by the EU Court of Justice.

Shuvalov was placed on the EU sanctions list in February 2022 for supporting actions and policies that undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

This decision led to the freezing of his funds and economic resources, as well as a ban on entry into or transit through the European Union.

In September 2022 and March 2023, the EU Council decided to extend the measures against Shuvalov.

The Russian ex-official’s lawsuit to overturn these decisions was dismissed by the European Court of General Jurisdiction, after which Shuvalov appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The EU Court of Justice rejected Shuvalov’s appeal and upheld the decision of the European Court of General Jurisdiction.

In February, Russian-Uzbek metals and telecoms tycoon Alisher Usmanov also lost his appeal against the EU sanctions. Usmanov will remain on the EU sanctions list, after the top EU court dismissed his appeal.

In its decision to add Usmanov to the sanctions list in March 2022, soon after Russia started an all-out war against Ukraine, the EU described Usmanov as having “particularly close ties” with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

In late January, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld sanctions against businessman Alexander Vinokurov, who is married to the daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Earlier, the EU Court of Justice did not lift sanctions against the Russian mobile operator Megafon.