Roman Abramovich has lost his legal bid to overturn sanctions imposed by the European Union over his role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The former Chelsea owner had filed a lawsuit in the EU's General Court against the Council of the European Union, which imposed the sentence on the 57-year-old oligarch in 2022 as part of measures against Russia and Vladimir Putin's close allies.
Abramovich insists he “did not benefit in any way” from Putin's 2022 invasion.
But the court said on Wednesday: 'The General Court rejects Abramovich's claim and thus upholds the restrictive measures taken against him.
“In reality, the Council did not err in its assessment by deciding to include and maintain Abramovich's name on the lists at issue, in light of his role in the Evraz Group and in particular in its parent company.”
When it imposed sanctions on Abramovich, the 27-nation bloc said he had “privileged access” to Putin and “maintained very good relations with him,” allowing the tycoon to “maintain his considerable wealth.”
Roman Abramovich has lost his legal bid to overturn sanctions imposed by the European Union over his role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
According to the EU, Abramovich's economic activities generated significant revenues for the Russian government.
“He is a major shareholder in the Evraz steel group, one of Russia's largest taxpayers,” the European Council said at the time.
“He has therefore taken advantage of the Russian decision-makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea or the destabilization of Ukraine.”
Abramovich, whose claim for damages was also rejected, can appeal the ruling.
In a statement on Wednesday, he said he was disappointed at the loss of a legal challenge to overturn sanctions imposed on him by the European Union.
“While we are disappointed with today's ruling, we are pleased that the court did not adopt several arguments made by the EU Council and include them as a basis for upholding sanctions,” he said in a statement issued on his behalf.
“Mr. Abramovich has no ability to influence the decision-making of any government, including Russia, and has not profited from the war in any way.”
The businessman has also been punished in Britain and had his assets frozen in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich was also forced to sell London football club Chelsea after being sanctioned by the British government for what it called enabling Putin's “brutal and barbaric invasion” of Ukraine.
The sale of the Premier League club for £2.5 billion – at the time the highest price ever paid for a sports team – was completed by a consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly.
Abramovich was forced to sell London football club Chelsea after being sanctioned by the British government for what it called enabling Putin's “brutal and barbaric invasion”.
Abramovich insists he 'did not benefit in any way' from Putin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine
It marked the end of Abramovich's trophy-laden 19-year tenure.
The EU has imposed 12 rounds of sanctions on Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine almost two years ago.
The measures target the energy sector, banks, companies and markets, and have subjected more than a thousand Russian officials to asset freezes and travel bans.
The EU sanctions against Abramovich were announced after investigations revealed evidence of alleged corrupt deals that helped the businessman make his fortune.
According to the BBC, Abramovich will make billions in 2022 after buying an oil company from the Russian government in a rigged auction in 1995.
The broadcaster said it paid around $250 million (£196 million) for Sibneft before selling it to the Russian government for $13 billion (£10.2 billion) in 2005.
A separate investigation this year also found that Abramovich had transferred a secret stake in a Russian media giant to two close friends of Vladimir Putin.
This is evident from leaked documents that investigative journalists have seen.
The report, based on leaked documents, said the $40 million 2010 deal (£26 million at the time) is the “clearest paper trail yet” financially linking Abramovich, 57, and the Russian president.
According to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (AT) and BBC NewsnightThe leaked documents showed a financial link between Abramovic and Putin through two close allies of Putin: Sergei Roldugin and Alexander Plekhov.
Roldugin is a cellist and artistic director of the St. Petersburg Music House. The couple knew each other as young men in St Petersburg, and Roldugin, 71, is said to have introduced Putin to his first wife, and is the godfather of their first daughter Maria.
The US Treasury Department described Roldugin in 2022 as “Putin's intermediary” who has acted as “part of a system that manages President Putin's offshore wealth.”
Plekhov, also from St. Petersburg, is another close associate of Putin.
He is a biochemist turned businessman and according to… British government'has benefited from his relationship with Putin and his company Vital Development Corporation has benefited from significant state support.'
Abramovich (left) sits with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is believed that Abramovich is the one who recommended Putin to Boris Yeltsin as the man to succeed him, which he did in 1999. They are said to have been allies ever since.
Eclipse, a superyacht linked to Roman Abramovich, is seen docked in Marmaris, Turkey on March 22, 2022. In March 2022, he was sanctioned by several Western governments.
Both Roldugin and Plekhov have been accused of being 'wallets' for the Russian president (holding money and assets on his behalf), and both have been sanctioned by the British government, as well as other Western countries, since Putin's invasion.
The researchers said the leaked documents show a seven-year paper trail linking Abramovich to these two men, and therefore to Putin.
Close ties between the pair have long been reported. It is believed that Abramovich is the one who recommended Putin to Boris Yeltsin as the man to succeed him, which he did in 1999. They are said to have been allies ever since.
But the Russian, who made much of his fortune from former state assets in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, has long avoided – through his London-based lawyers – any financial relationship with Putin and his Kremlin regime in Moscow denied.