EU General Court upholds sanctions on oligarch Dmitry Mazepin

The European Union’s General Court ruled on Wednesday in favor of maintaining sanctions on the Russian ammonia tycoon Dmitry Mazepin.

The Council of the EU froze the oligarch’s assets shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 of last year.

Mazepin, who at that point owned a controlling stake in the mineral fertilizer producer UralChem, was deemed, like many other business leaders and top company managers, to be supporting the military campaign.

While Mazepin has always rejected the bloc’s rationale and firmly denied that there is any justification for the sanctions, the General Court quashed his attempt to overturn the punitive measures.

The judges determined that the Council had indeed provided enough evidence to justify the asset freeze, saying ‘The Council has adduced a set of sufficiently specific, precise and consistent indicia capable of demonstrating that Mr. Mazepin is a leading businessperson involved in a sector providing a substantial source of revenue to the Russian Government.’

Mazepin is still able to appeal the decision at the Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court.