Official Journal of the European Union

C series

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C/2024/6431

(Case T-635/22)

(Common foreign and security policy - Restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine - Freezing of funds - List of persons, entities and bodies subject to the freezing of funds and economic resources - Inclusion of the applicants’ names on the list - Obligation to report funds or economic resources belonging to or owned, held or controlled by the applicants - Obligation to cooperate with the competent national authority - Participation in activities the object or effect of which is to circumvent restrictive measures - Article 9(2) and (3) of Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 - Action for annulment - Locus standi - Direct concern - Regulatory act not entailing implementing measures - Interest in bringing proceedings - Admissibility - Power of the Council - Proportionality)

(C/2024/6431)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicants: Mikhail Fridman (London, United Kingdom), Petr Aven (Virginia Water, United Kingdom), German Khan (London) (represented by: T. Marembert and A. Bass, lawyers)

Defendant: Council of the European Union (represented by: S. Van Overmeire and J. Rurarz, acting as Agents, and by B. Maingain, lawyer)

Interveners in support of the defendant: Kingdom of Belgium (represented by: C. Pochet, M. Van Regemorter and L. Van den Broeck, acting as Agents), Republic of Latvia (represented by: K. Pommere and J. Davidoviča, acting as Agents), European Commission (represented by: H. Krämer, C. Giolito, M. Carpus Carcea and L. Puccio, acting as Agents)

Re:

By their action under Article 263 TFEU, the applicants seek the annulment of Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1273 of 21 July 2022 amending Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine (OJ 2022 L 194, p. 1), in so far as it concerns them, and refer more specifically to Article 1, point 4, of the contested regulation in so far as it amends Article 9 of Council Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 of 17 March 2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine (OJ 2014 L 78, p. 6) by inserting obligations to report funds and to cooperate with the competent authorities in that regard (Article 9(2) of Regulation No 269/2014, as amended) and by treating a failure to comply with those obligations as a circumvention of fund-freezing measures (Article 9(3) of Regulation No 269/2014, as amended).

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1.Dismisses the action;

2.Orders Mr Mikhail Fridman, Mr Petr Aven and Mr German Khan to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the Council of the European Union;

3.Orders the Kingdom of Belgium, the Republic of Latvia and the European Commission to bear their own costs.

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Language of the case: French.

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/6431/oj

ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)

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ECLI:EU:C:2025:140

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