MOSCOW, July 12 (Reuters) - Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich on Wednesday will challenge European Union sanctions imposed on him after the Ukraine war, arguing that the restrictions were imposed simply because he is a well-known Russian, a source familiar with the matter said.
After President Vladimir Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, the EU slapped sanctions on Russian officials and a host of Russian businessmen while freezing hundreds of billions of dollars of Russian assets.
The EU in March 2022 described Abramovich, now 56, as an "oligarch who has close ties to Vladimir Putin" including "privileged access" to the Kremlin chief, connections the EU said had helped him maintain his assets.
Abramovich filed a challenge to the EU sanctions on May 25, 2022, and on Thursday the General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union will hear the challenge, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
His lawyers will argue that the EU sanctions are baseless and were imposed purely because he is a famous Russian businessman, the source said.
Persons:
Roman Abramovich, Vladimir Putin, Abramovich, Forbes, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn
Organizations:
EU, Kremlin, Justice, European, Reuters, Soviet Union, Thomson
Locations:
MOSCOW, Ukraine, European Union, Russian, Soviet