Roman Abramovich loses third attempt to overturn EU sanctions

A top EU court on Wednesday rejected Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s third attempt to overturn sanctions against him over the war in Ukraine.

The former owner of Chelsea football club, who has close ties to the Kremlin, was added to bloc’s asset freeze and visa ban blacklist in 2022 after Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour.

The EU’s General Court rejected Abramovich’s claims that the bloc was unfairly seeking to “exploit him on account of his public notoriety”.

It said that Abramovich was listed legally because he had stakes in metals giants Evraz and Norilsk Nickel, both of which provided “a substantial source of revenue” for the Russian government.

Abramovich, who had two previous cases rejected in 2023 and 2025, is among numerous Russian businessmen challenging EU sanctions.

AFP