EU General Court Rejects Sanctions Reprieve for Alisher Usmanov

The EU General Court on June 27 dismissed an application from sanctioned Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov for interim measures, according to an unofficial translation. The court ruled his application didn't show urgency or serious irreparable harm because Usmanov only discussed his damages that stemmed from the financial viability of three subsidiaries of USM Holding. Usmanov has a 49% share of the subsidiaries and thus does not control them, the court pointed out. As such, the applicant failed to show a direct causal link between the subsidiaries' finances and his placement, made in February, on the EU's Russian sanctions list.

In two previous rulings, the General Court tossed the applications for interim measures by Usmanov's sisters, Gulbakhor Ismailova and Saodat Narzieva. As in the Usmanov ruling, the court said neither woman established the existence of serious and irreparable damage caused by their sanctions listings.