European General Court upholds sanctions on Grodno Azot

The European General Court on Wednesday rejected a request from the Belarusian state-run fertilizer producer Grodno Azot and its subsidiary Khimvolokno for sanctions relief.

The court ruled that the Council of the European Union was correct in its determination that Grodno Azot and Khimvolokno represent a source of substantial revenue – and thus material support – for the Lukashenko regime.

The judges noted that documents seen by the court showed that Grodno Azot paid dividends into the Belarusian budget that amounted to 8.5 million Belarusian rubles (€3.53mn) in 2018, 34.2 million rubles in 2019 (€14.6mn), and 6.8 million rubles in 2020.

On that basis, the judges averred that the Council’s imposition of sanctions on the Belarusian companies was lawful, and upheld the punitive measures.

The EU placed sanctions on Grodno Azot and Khimvolokno in December 2021 in response to the Belarusian authorities’ use of violence against peaceful protesters following the August 2020 presidential elections, which were widely condemned as fraudulent.