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Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who was sanctioned by the European Union and several other countries because of his ties to the Kremlin, decided to sue the European Council.
According to Russia’s TASS and the Associated Press, the case has already been taken to the European Court of Justice, and there is no information about the reasons Abramovich cites to justify the operation.
However, the decision comes after the European Union decided, on March 15, to include him in the list of people with ties to the Russian regime who have suffered individual sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans.
At the time, the EU argued that Abramovich had “privileged access” to Vladimir Putin, with whom he maintains “very good relations”, and that this connection “helped him preserve his considerable fortune.” Abramovich even acted as a mediator in negotiations with the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
Moreover, I continued The statement issued at that time From the decision to punish the oligarch and 877 others, “Roman Abramovich is one of the main shareholders of the Evraz steel group, which is one of the largest in Russia,” and therefore “benefited from the Russian decision-makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea or for the destabilization of Ukraine.”
“He is also one of the prominent Russian businessmen active in the economic sectors that represent a great source of income for the government of the Russian Federation, responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of Ukraine.”
Roman Abramovich on the EU sanctions list for “close relations” with Vladimir Putin
The United Kingdom also imposed sanctions on Abramovich for “supporting the brutal and savage invasion of Ukraine” and thus hastened the sale of his British club Chelsea, which was sold for US$3.2 billion (€2.9 billion) to a North American consortium. . The sale was put on hold due to the penalties, but was completed on Monday.
As reported by the Associated Press, it was the Portuguese authorities who assured that the money from the sale of Chelsea would not end up in the pockets of the Russian oligarch, and should return to “humanitarian activities” in Ukraine.
This is because Abramović, thanks to the Nationality Law – which allows the naturalization of descendants of Sephardic Jews, who were expelled from Portugal at the end of the fifteenth century – was able to become Portuguese, in an accelerated process being investigated by the prosecution. , and that Público reported the existence of As a result of pressure From the Israeli community in Porto.
Other sanctions against Abramovich were imposed by Canada and Australia.
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