EU court overturns sanctions on Russian tycoon Dmitry Pumpyansky

Another oligarch will avoid punishment. The CJEU has decided.

Dmitry Pumpyansky, the former president of the Russian metallurgical giant TMK, must be removed from the European Union sanctions list created in response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, according to a decision made by the Court of Justice of the European Union on Wednesday.

Reuters reported the ruling, also reminding that the same Court overturned the sanctions imposed on another Russian billionaire, Mikhail Fridman, and his business associate, Petr Aven, in April.

Dmitry Pumpyansky was added to the EU sanctions list in March 2022. At that time, he served as president of TMK, a company specialising in the production of steel pipes. He was also the president and a board member of the Russian investment bank Sinara.

The European Union accused Pumpyansky of both TMK and Sinara "support and benefit from cooperation with authorities of Russian Federation and State-owned enterprises, including Russian railways, Gazprom and Rosneft."

Lack of evidence

According to Reuters, in its ruling, the Court of Justice of the EU stated that the EU Council did not provide sufficient evidence to justify maintaining sanctions against Pumpyansky after he resigned from his position.

The Court of Justice of the EU stated: "The Council has not produced sound and consistent evidence ... links with TMK and Group Sinara as well as with economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation."

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