Previously, Aven indirectly owned 12.4% of the shares of this bank, and it was his participation in one of the largest Russian commercial banks that was the basis for his inclusion in the European Union (EU) sanctions list.
Unofficial information shows that Aven has informed the Latvian and European authorities that he no longer directly or indirectly owns the shares of “Alfa Bank” and any other companies registered in Russia.
So far, neither the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoF) have commented to the LETA agency whether this could somehow affect Latvia’s legal proceedings with Avena regarding EU sanctions.
TM refused to give further comments, under the pretext of an active legal process at the Court of the European Union (CJEU).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that Latvia has filed an appeal against the CJEU verdict, which annulled the EU sanctions imposed on Avena, and taking into account this legal process, the ministry cannot comment on the correspondence with Avena.
At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the EU Council can decide on the cancellation of the currently valid sanctions, and until such a decision is made, the sanctions against Avena remain in force and the financial assets and economic resources in the property, possession, possession and control of the person are frozen.
It has already been announced that the CJEU canceled the decision of the EU Council on the sanctions imposed on Aven and another billionaire Mihailo Fridman on February 28, 2022.
In the judgment, the CJEU stated that none of the grounds included in the initial legal acts for subjecting Aven and Friedman to sanctions were sufficiently substantiated and that their inclusion in the lists of persons subject to sanctions was therefore not justified. Regarding their subsequent retention in the sanctions lists of the CJEU, the General Court ruled that the Council of the EU did not provide any additional evidence compared to those originally relied upon.
The court believes that although the arguments put forward by the Council of the EU can prove some kind of connection between Aven and Friedman with the master of the Kremlin Vladimir Putin or persons close to him, they do not allow establishing that they supported actions or policies that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity of Ukraine. sovereignty and independence, or that they have provided material or financial support to Russian officials responsible for the annexation of Crimea.
Latvia is the only country that has filed an appeal against the verdict. Latvia was among the member states that invited the Council of the EU to submit an appeal, however, according to the recommendation of the Legal Service of the Council of the EU and the opinions of the majority of the EU member states, the Council of the EU did not do so.
Asked whether, if he wins the appeal instance, Aven could ask for compensation from Latvia, his lawyer Aron Bass previously stated that “apart from covering his lawyers’ fees, which he will absolutely demand, it would depend on various variables, but theoretically yes”.
LETA previously assured the TM agency that the CJEU does not decide on the recovery of compensation in appeal proceedings, but can decide on the recovery of court costs, which depends on the outcome of the proceedings.
Avena’s lawyer did not name the exact amount of expenses, because the legal proceedings are still ongoing, but it can reach up to two million euros.
It has already been reported that Aven was sanctioned by the USA, Great Britain, the EU and other countries.
Late last year, a Ukrainian court lifted a partial seizure of Netherlands-based VEON’s corporate rights in Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, which was once imposed to prevent Aven and Fridman from profiting from Kyivstar.
The list of the world’s richest people “Bloomberg Billionaires Index” (“Bloomberg” Billionaires Index”) shows that Aven’s wealth increased by 1.42 billion US dollars (1.36 billion euros) to 7.38 billion dollars during the last year.
Through Luxembourg-based holding company LetterOne, Aven is a co-owner of European oil and gas company Wintershall Dea, international mobile phone company Veon, Turkey’s largest mobile phone company Turkcell and other health and technology companies.
Aven also has Latvian citizenship, and since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he has been living in Latvia with his family.