EU court strikes down sanctions on Russian businessman; Council reimposes measures

The European Union’s General Court annulled sanctions against Russian businessman Mikail Gutseriev, ruling that the Council of the European Union made an ‘error of assessment’ when it maintained restrictive measures based on outdated evidence of his ties to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. However, the Council immediately relisted Gutseriev under new measures maintaining him on EU sanctions lists until 26 February of next year. 

The court ruled that the Council failed to conduct an updated evaluation of Gutseriev’s situation before extending sanctions in February 2024, relying instead on evidence dating primarily from 2020 and earlier to justify his continued designation.

‘By failing to carry out an updated assessment of the applicant’s situation in order to ascertain whether, at the time of the adoption of the contested acts, it was still possible to regard him as a person benefiting from and supporting the regime of President Lukashenko, the Council made an error of assessment,’ the court stated.

The Council had justified sanctions by identifying Gutseriev as a prominent Russian businessman with interests in Belarus in energy, potash, hospitality and other sectors, and as a long-time acquaintance of Lukashenko who accumulated significant wealth and influence among the political elite in Belarus.

The Council cited Gutseriev’s role as shareholder and chairman of the Safmar and Slavkali companies, noting Safmar was the only Russian oil firm that continued supplying oil to Belarusian refineries during the 2020 energy crisis between Belarus and Russia. It also pointed to Gutseriev’s $2 billion investment in the Nezhinsky potassium chloride mining and processing plant, with Lukashenko promising to rename the town of Lyuban ‘Gutserievsk’ in his honor.

However, the court found that the Council’s evidence regarding several grounds for listing was insufficient or related exclusively to past events. The court noted that the Council had not proved Gutseriev continued to have business interests in Belarus at the time of the contested acts in February 2024 that would enable him to be regarded as having substantial business interests in several sectors or as having ‘a prosperous personal relationship with President Lukashenko’.

Gutseriev was initially added to EU sanctions lists in June 2021 under restrictive measures adopted in view of the situation in Belarus regarding democracy, rule of law and human rights, and Belarus’s involvement in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

The court noted that by Council Decision (CFSP) 2025/385 of Feb. 24, 2025, which is not covered by the court action, Gutseriev’s name was maintained on the sanctions lists until 28 February 2026, rendering moot the Council’s arguments about the temporal effects of the partial annulment.