July 3, 2024 – Dmitry Mazepin’s support of the military campaign taken by the Russian government regarding the invasion of Ukraine had led to the oligarch being sanctioned by the European Union in March of 2022. Mazepin has filed a challenge to the application of EU Sanctions against him with the General Court (First Chamber), which is a constituent of the Court of Justice of the European Community.
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.
Following the modifications of the application, Mazepin claimed, in essence, that the Court should:
- Annul the contested acts and the letters of 15 September 2022, 14 March 2023 and 15 September 2023, in so far as they concern him;
- Order the Council to pay the costs.
In July of 2024, the General Court (First Chamber) released a judgement dismissing Mazepin’s challenge to the EU sanctions against him. Further to the observations on the modifications of the application, the Council contends that the Court should:
Dismiss the action, first, as inadmissible in so far as it seeks annulment of the two letters of 15 September 2022 and 15 September 2023 by which the Council decided to maintain his name on the sanctioned lists at issue. Second, as unfounded as to the remainder; and order him to bear his own costs, and to pay those incurred by the Council of the European Union.
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.’
In Mazepin’s attempts to cover his own tracks and avoid the repercussions of his actions, he only further exposes the root cause of the Togliattiazot lawsuit between himself and the company’s rightful shareholders. That being the Russian oligarch’s pride, greed and corruption, in an attempt to obtain power in a billion dollar industry.
Read full judgement here: JUDGEMENT OF THE GENERAL COURT (First Chamber) – 3 July 2024
