2024-04-08 10:26:46
Aven and Friedman have been sanctioned by the USA, Great Britain, the EU and other countries, because these countries believe that they are people close to the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and serve the interests of the Kremlin, including Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
Ukraine has also imposed its own sanctions on Fridman and Aven and nationalized the assets they owned in the country.
Aven has Latvian citizenship and since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he lives in Latvia with his family. Aven is trying to get the sanctions applied to him canceled at various levels of EU courts.
Meanwhile, Friedman, who is also an Israeli citizen, continues to live in Russia.
The information available on the ECJ’s website shows that Aven and Friedman asked for the sanctions to be lifted because they believe that the EU Council committed significant procedural violations, and also failed to prove that they are influential and operate in economic sectors that are important sources of income for the Russian government.
Lawyer Jānis Kārklinņš, who provides legal assistance to Aven in Latvia and the EU, told LETA that the Council of the EU has not proven any of the claims that Aven has provided any support that could undermine or threaten the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Also, no evidence has been provided that Aven has provided support to Russian decision-makers who are responsible for the destabilization of Ukraine.
According to Karklinis, it should be taken into account that two years have passed since March 2022 and the sanctioned person has not only condemned the war, but also got rid of his assets in Russia and severed ties with Russia.
“Therefore, most likely, even if the verdict in the specific case will be unfavorable, in order to obtain positive results and the cancellation of sanctions through the court, it will be necessary to continue to litigate the decisions by which the sanctions were extended, justifying the above-mentioned arguments that have come to the court since March 2022, ” stated the lawyer.
Currently, the March 2022 decision of the EU Council on imposing sanctions has been appealed to the court, but the sanctions are extended every six months, and by nature the person has the right to appeal every such decision, explained the lawyer. So far this has not been done.
The case is currently under consideration in the General Court of the CJEU, whose decision can be appealed to the Supreme Chamber of the CJEU.
LETA already reported that after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, public discussions began about whether Aven should be allowed to retain his Latvian citizenship. At the beginning of this year, the director of the Constitutional Protection Bureau (SAB) Egils Zviedris told the TV3 program “Neka personalisa” that “the SAB is still waiting for information from certain cooperation partners that could give a significant reason to make a decision that could lead to the solution of Aven’s citizenship issue”.
2024-04-08 10:26:46