London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 20, 2025

The oligarch sanctions runaround: Freeze, lose in court, and still keep the money

The oligarch sanctions runaround: Freeze, lose in court, and still keep the money

Even if Russian oligarchs sue successfully against Western sanctions, there’s no guarantee they’ll regain control over their assets.

Call it the sanctions runaround.

European authorities have repeatedly imposed asset freezes on Russian oligarchs they accuse of supporting Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine. The oligarchs often sue — and win — in court. But that doesn't mean they will get their money, art collections or yachts back anytime soon.

In the latest legal setback, British police have admitted that searches of premises linked to tycoon Roman Abramovich were illegal.

According to a legal document, Jersey police have agreed to pay compensation to the former owner of Premier League soccer club Chelsea as their search warrants "were obtained illegally." The police "agrees that the Applicants shall receive a private apology for the unlawful warrants," states the document, reported by Reuters last week and seen by POLITICO.

The European Union also faces a slew of legal challenges. That's because Russia's richest want their money back — and they are taking the EU to court to fight back against asset freezes and visa bans.

The Court of Justice of the EU says it has registered 54 cases connected to the war in Ukraine. These include companies, like state broadcaster Russia Today, and people who have filed multiple cases, although the vast majority have been brought by individuals.

In response, the bloc is starting to quietly drop some of those sanctioned from its hit list, including the sister of Uzbek-born metals tycoon Alisher Usmanov, who sued the EU after being sanctioned in April for allegedly keeping his money on her Swiss bank accounts. The former wife of billionaire Mikhail Fridman, Olga Ayziman, has also been struck off the sanctions list.

EU spokesperson Daniel Ferrie said such de-listings were a standard exercise. "Since sanctions are progressive/regressive depending on whether the actions/behaviour of those targeted persists or changed, it is a natural part of the sanctions regime not only to list but also de-list people if there are reasons for it," Ferrie said, without elaborating on the specific cases.

Whether standard or not, the EU is struggling to close loopholes and ensure that sanctions such as asset freezes are watertight. According to legal experts, the EU’s existing measures are anything but.

At the end of the day, even if the bloc loses in court, the oligarchs' path to restitution can be obstructed by the vagaries of the judicial system.

Here’s how the game works:


1. Don’t give (enough) evidence
The EU is struggling to close loopholes and ensure that sanctions such as asset freezes are watertight


If you want to make an oligarch unhappy, make sure that you don’t specify why they specifically have been hit and keep explanations why you think they’re Putin's friends — or how they’re helping the war — as short as possible. That’ll give a nice excuse for those who are actually supporting the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine to drag you to court, while not giving a chance for those who purportedly don’t support Putin to set the record straight.

“There is an issue with the sanctions regime, because it's often quite subjective in the sense that you kind of determine the relationship of a person with [the] Russian [government]. And of course, it opens room for debate,” said Maíra Martini, Transparency International’s anti-money laundering expert. “I think it's also fair that people can challenge whether their name has been included in the list.”

As “there is a rush to try to implement sanctions and put pressure on as many individuals as possible,” Martini said, many complaints come in — especially because, she said, some parts of the sanctions regime were “not as transparent as they should be.”


2. Make the sanctions about something they’ve done in the past


That might be a counterintuitive one, but sanctions aren’t actually supposed to be about what someone’s done in the past. Instead, lawyer Viktor Winkler, who specializes in sanctions, said they’re supposed to stop, or at least hinder, someone from continuing to do the evil thing the EU says they’re doing — in this case, contributing to war in Ukraine. That means that you can’t punish someone for something they did previously, Winkler said.

A look at the sanctions list shows that that’s something the EU seems to be struggling with.

For many of the listed individuals, the reasons simply cite the person’s position, then adding a catch-all, identical phrase that the person “is therefore responsible for supporting actions and policies which undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”

That’s already a step further, however, with listings from 2014 in response to Russia’s Crimea annexation often focusing on acts of the past instead of explaining how the persons contribute to the ongoing occupation.

Will that hold up in court? We’ll see.


3. Don’t give them an escape route


To make sure you’ll get dragged to court, it’s important that you put in no clause on how the person can get their money back or visa rights reinstated. Just don’t specify what they’ll have to do to get off the sanctions list — say, donate half of their frozen assets to the rebuilding of Ukraine — and you’ll be certain to get slapped by a court case, with lawyers arguing that this is disproportionate.

Thought no one would notice? Disproportionality is one of the top reasons cited in the oligarchs’ filings.

The Court of Justice of the EU says it has registered 54 cases connected to the war in Ukraine


Transparency International’s Martini said the sanctions regime would be stronger if the EU predetermined criteria that would trigger a designation (and published those), and then give oligarchs an escape route.

“You need to be very clear, as well, on how the individual could leave the list. So: what actions are expected from that individual if he wants to see his name being removed from a sanctions list. And then you need to have a process for the individual to be able to challenge that. And you need to be transparent about all of those measures,” she said.


4. Make them self-incriminate


Now, one of the biggest challenges for the EU is how to actually find all the mansions and yachts and money that sanctioned oligarchs have in Europe — it’s not like they’ll happily give up their fortunes.

To make things easier, the EU wants to pass a law that would force oligarchs to disclose the assets they have in the bloc. (Ukraine is pushing hard for this approach, with Deputy Justice Minister Iryna Mudra having gone on a month-long lobbying spree to convince Western allies to confiscate Russian assets).

But that would amount to breaching fundamental principles of law, said Winkler, calling the EU’s sanctions policy “heavily dilettante.”

“The newest regulation contains a blatant violation of the right against self-incrimination,” Winkler said. That’s because the planned rules would force those on the sanctions list “to disclose the very information that is prone to incriminate them since sanctions violation is a crime.”

“Nobody must be forced to disclose information by which he or she would admit to a criminal allegation,” he said, adding that the proposed law would violate EU law and make the bloc vulnerable to being sued: “It is time that the EU becomes more professional in its sanctions measures.”


5. Keep them on anyways


But to really rile them up, just keep them on the lists. All the oligarchs can do is challenge existing decisions in court, and since these cases take years there will be plenty of time keep them on the list under a technically new decision — even if the court determines that they’ve won a specific case. An endless wheel.

“Of course, it’s always indicated on the court’s website that somebody ‘won the case,’ but it’s not really winning. It’s just something on paper, but in fact, the person hasn’t won anything,” said attorney Helen over de Linden, who focuses on Court of Justice cases against sanctions.

Why do oligarchs keep suing the EU, then?

“I’m always astonished about it,” she said. “They always have hope that now they will win their cases.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
×