Posted by 
The General Court of the European Union on Wednesday upheld sanctions against Russian ammonia magnate Dmitry Mazepin.
Mazepin, whose son Nikita used to drive in Formula 1 motor racing, was sanctioned by the Council of the EU in the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine over his ties to President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian oligarch had his assets frozen, and was forbidden from traveling to the EU. And, despite Mazepin’s legal challenge, the EU court said the Council had provided enough evidence to justify the sanctions.
“The Council provided a proper statement of reasons for its decision,” the court said in a statement.
“The Council has adduced a set of sufficiently specific, precise and consistent indicia capable of demonstrating that Mr. Mazepin is a leading businessperson involved in a sector providing a substantial source of revenue to the Russian Government,” the statement said.
Mazepin can still appeal the decision to the higher court of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the EU’s Luxembourg-based top court.
Following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the European Council hastily issued sanctions against hundreds of people and companies for their support of the war.
But some of these decisions have been challenged in court, illustrating that cases formed against the sanctioned individuals were at times built on shaky evidence.
Mazepin owns the fertilizer giant Uralkali, which was the main sponsor and part-owner in the Haas F1 team until the squad put an end to the partnership after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and sacked Nikita Mazepin, who was one of the team’s two drivers and was also put under EU sanctions.
Nikita Mazepin successfully challenged the sanctions against him, which were suspended by the General Court of the EU in March.
The case is T-282/22 Mazepin v Council.
