Brussels has closed a loophole to lift sanctions on them.
The European Union has adjusted the criteria by which the possibility of excluding Russian oligarchs from the sanctions lists is assessed. This is reported by RBC with reference to the decision of the EU Council of May 13, 2025. The reason for the tightening were the attempts of the restrictive list members to challenge the sanctions in the Court of Justice of the European Union, claiming their “illegality”.
According to the updated procedure, the EU refuses to automatically consider credible the statements of sanctioned persons about the sale of assets after February 24, 2022 – the date of the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Now, in order to be removed from the sanctions list, it is not enough to claim a withdrawal from business or transfer of assets: it is necessary to provide “sufficient, timely and reliable” evidence that the figure no longer falls under the sanctions criteria. In addition, in the absence of convincing information about the authenticity of such transactions, sanctions may be extended to third parties – both individuals and legal entities – who participated in the transfer of assets.
The document notes: the Russian authorities restrict access to databases and may deliberately enter inaccurate information into state registers. The preamble to the decision emphasizes that “relations of mutual benefit and support” are preserved between the Russian state and the leading businessmen.
Gleb Boyko, a lawyer at the Moscow-based law firm NSP, commenting on the EU decision, explained that now buyers of assets from under-sanctioned businessmen risk being subject to restrictions if they cannot prove the reality of the transaction and the lack of connection with the former owners. Lawyer Yuri Shumilov, founder of the Belgian consulting company YS Advisors, added that the EU with this step actually eliminates the gaps in its legal position, which allowed Russian businessmen to achieve victories in European courts.
Mikhail Fridman and Pyotr Aven, co-founders of Alfa Group, remain one of the most prominent figures trying to challenge the sanctions. In 2024, the EU General Court partially satisfied their lawsuit, lifting part of the sanctions because the EU could not provide convincing evidence of their personal involvement in undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty. However, the remaining restrictions remained in force: the EU still qualifies them as “leading businessmen involved in sectors of the economy providing substantial revenues to the Russian state.”
In late 2024, Fridman and Aven, counting on the lifting of sanctions, transferred their stakes in Alfa Bank and an affiliated insurance company to longtime partner Andrei Kosogov, who himself is not under sanctions.