‘A triumph of money, filth, and hypocrisy’: EU decision to lift sanctions on Russian billionaires Fridman and Usmanov draws backlash

The European Union extended its Russia sanctions list, covering more than 3,000 people and companies, for a full three years on September 22, but removed billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov in the process. The decision was political rather than judicial: Luxembourg intervened for Fridman, who has an active lawsuit against the country, while France advocated for Usmanov and reportedly received a pardon for a French citizen convicted in Azerbaijan in return.

Russian opposition figures and Ukrainian officials reacted with anger. Critics noted neither man has publicly condemned the war or taken concrete steps against Putin's regime, and pointed out that sanctions require unanimous agreement among 27 member states, meaning any single country's intervention, as previously seen with Hungary, Austria, and Slovakia, can carve out exceptions.

One former Anti-Corruption Foundation official called the Usmanov removal a result of what she described as hostage-taking, referencing France's simultaneous arrangement involving a citizen held in Azerbaijan. Volkov, who once advocated a formal sanctions-exit framework tied to war condemnation and compensation, has called his own 2022 letter proposing such lifts a major political mistake.

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