EU General Court Sustains Sanctions Listing for Russian Businessman

The EU General Court on June 19 rejected Russian businessperson Igor Rotenberg's bid to be removed from the EU's Russian sanctions list. Rotenberg was sanctioned for holding leadership positions in Russian companies SGM, Gazprom Drilling and Mostotrest and for his association with his father, oligarch Arkady Rotenberg, and with President Vladimir Putin.

Igor Rotenberg alleged that the European Council failed to explain how he benefits from Russian decision-makers and the Russian government because he no longer holds any stake in the companies referred to by the council in his sanctions listing. He added that the council failed to say how his status as the son of Arkady Rotenberg is relevant to his listing.

The court noted that Rotenberg didn't hold any stake in either of the three companies listed in his sanctions designation, though he still held 23.5% shares in RTITS, the company that operates the toll-collection system on national roads. The decision found this link sufficient to maintain his sanctions designation despite the fact that RTITS wasn't in his sanctions listing.

The decision said that despite the omission of RTITS in the listing, the phrase "including" in Rotenberg's sanctions listing "indicates sufficiently explicitly that the companies referred to by name in the grounds are given solely for illustrative purposes." As a result, the council demonstrated he received a "benefit" from the Russian government through his role with RTITS.