Businessmen are fighting for a way out – Kommersant FM
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German Khan lost the court case to lift the EU sanctions. The court rejected the claim of the co-founder of Alfa Group, thereby leaving the restrictions in force. The reasoning states that German Khan can still be considered a “leading businessman” who retains interests in the industrial and financial sectors of the Russian economy. At the same time, the court sided with businessman Alexander Pumpyansky, ordering to remove him from the sanctions lists. Kommersant FM spoke with lawyers about what the European Court is paying attention to and how Russian businessmen can get rid of restrictions. Their observations are in the material by Ivan Yakunin.
The first case is successful. Alexander Pumpyansky, the son of Russian billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky, fell under sanctions in March 2022. Together with their father, they were on the board of directors of the Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK), which, according to the EU, “provides a significant source of income for the Russian Federation.”
Both left the company. Pumpyansky Sr. was the first to file a lawsuit in the interests of all family members. Refusal. Alexander Pumpyansky decided to act independently and succeeded. Why? BGP Litigation partner Sergey Glandin explains:
“The Council of the European Union has provided various documents. This evidence was considered not worthy of attention. Some media materials are already outdated, some are not dated at all. The main conclusion of this case: if a person no longer meets the criterion on the basis of which he was included, then the EU Council itself must remove him from the list of restrictions. The court recognized that Pumpyansky Jr.’s factual situation had changed greatly. The Council of the European Union did not provide evidence other than a family connection with his father.”
The European Union does not punish for family ties – this was confirmed by the case of Violetta Prigozhina, the mother of the founder of the Wagner PMC. In the case of Pumpyansky Jr., another detail may be important. He is a Swiss citizen and lives there permanently.
After the sanctions, he complained that he could not pay his mortgage and buy food. German Khan from Alfa Group has a different situation. Bloomberg wrote that he returned to Moscow from London due to sanctions, and also allegedly began managing the holding’s assets. In addition, unlike Alexander Pumpyansky, the European Union considers him a “leading businessman.” This is a special status, which is not so easy to challenge, says Tatyana Neveeva, senior partner at Verba Legal:
“This kind of exemption from sanctions is typical for those cases when the grounds on which a person was included in the list, in principle, contain nothing other than the fact that he holds a position in some company.
This only works in a very limited number of cases. As a rule, the EU simply draws attention to the fact that the businessman is a large taxpayer, which helps finance the regime and so on. You can’t just get rid of this kind of wording, for example, by leaving the management bodies of a company.”
Nevertheless, it is possible to get out of such a situation. The wording “leading businessperson” also accompanied Alexander Shulgin, who headed the Ozon company at the beginning of hostilities. On February 24, 2022, he was spotted at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But he left the company’s management and challenged the sanctions in court. In addition, the European Union decided not to extend the restrictions regarding the head of the Unified Social Security group Grigory Berezkin and the ex-co-owner of Northgas Farhad Akhmedov. So there is room for maneuver, says Andrey Ryabinin, partner of the DelcrEdere Bar Association:
“Of course, the most radical strategy may involve behavior similar to Oleg Tinkov, who sold his Russian business, left the country, and also made a number of public statements. But not all businessmen in Russia are ready for such radical behavior. Overall efficiency is relatively low. But even more moderate strategies can also produce results.”
However, neither Khan’s partner Alexey Kuzmichev, nor Viktor Rashnikov from MMK, nor the founder of Uralchem Dmitry Mazepin, nor billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev have yet achieved it. Their claims to lift the sanctions were rejected, although the entrepreneurs sold their shares and left management. However, even if the court supports the Russian businessman, this is not the end. The Council of Europe may challenge the decision.
Everything is clear with us – Telegram channel “Kommersant FM”.
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