Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko attacked the European Union’s decision to sanction him, saying his close ties to President Vladimir Putin don’t mean he’s an ally in the war in Ukraine.
(Bloomberg) — Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko attacked the European Union’s decision to sanction him, saying his close ties to President Vladimir Putin don’t mean he’s an ally in the war in Ukraine.
Timchenko and his wife in separate appeals on Wednesday told judges at the bloc’s second-highest court that the EU’s justifications for including them on its sanctions list lacked proof and should be annulled.
“Even though it’s true that Gennady Timchenko has known Mr. Putin for a long time, to call him a confidant is something that we contest, as this statement contains a sort of allegation,” his lawyer Stéphane Bonifassi told the EU’s General Court. He also rejected EU claims that Timchenko contributed to Russia’s economy through his ties in investment firm Volga Group and Bank Rossiya.
The EU has sanctioned almost 1,500 people and 207 entities since Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, starting with its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and followed by its invasion of Ukraine in February last year. Dozens of Russian billionaires, including Roman Abramovich, and family members flocked to the bloc’s courts in Luxembourg in an attempt to extricate themselves from the list and have their funds unfrozen.
Timchenko is challenging the EU’s decision in February 2022 to add him to its sanctions list, imposing asset freezes and a travel ban. One of the EU’s justifications includes a shareholding in Bank Rossiya, “the personal bank of Senior Officials of the Russian Federation,” which opened branches across Crimea and Sevastopol following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
“We’re told all the time, well it’s a bank for senior Russian officials, but there’s no proof given of that,” his lawyer said.
Marie-Cecile Cadilhac, a lawyer for the EU Council, said the combination of all its evidence shows how Timchenko “is providing material and financial support to Russian decision makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilization are Ukraine, in particular Vladimir Putin, and benefits from those decision makers.”
Timchenko Is Richest Russian With Family Sanctioned by U.S.
The cases are: T-252/22, Timchenko v. Council; T-361/22, Timchenko v. Council.
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