EU General Court Annuls Former Russian Race Driver's Sanctions Listing

The EU General Court on March 20 annuled the sanctions listing of former Formula One driver Nikita Mazepin, saying the link between Mazepin and his father -- sanctioned Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin -- is insufficient for the driver's listing on the Russia sanctions regime.

The younger Mazepin was sanctioned in March 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine due to his association with his father, who is the former owner and CEO of Russian chemical giant Uralchem. The General Court noted that the "association" criterion covers individuals generally linked by common interests, saying that this "criterion implies the existence of a link going beyond a family relationship, established in light of a set of indicia sufficiently specific, precise and consistent."

As a result, the court said, the European Council didn't establish the proper link between Mazepin and his father to make the listing. The link "is in no way established from an economic or capital perspective or by the existence of common interests linking them at the time when the maintaining acts were adopted," the court said.

While the council defended the listing on the grounds that Mazepin's father sponsored his driving in F1, the court noted that Mazepin no longer drives for the Haas F1 Team. As a result, the only basis for Mazepin's listing is his familial link to his father, "which is not sufficient to maintain his name on the lists of persons subject to restrictive measures," the court said.