The fate of EU sanctions against Russian Alfa-Bank may be decided this week.
The European Union imposed sanctions on Alfa-Bank in February 2023 as part of the tenth sanctions package against Russia, coinciding with the anniversary of the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Along with Alfa-Bank, Tinkoff Bank and Rosbank were also targeted by sanctions at that time. A hearing on the T-271/23 case before the Court of Justice of the EU is scheduled for October 15th. As a result of this case, which began in May 2022, Alfa-bank is seeking to have the EU sanctions lifted.
In its defense, the bank made several allegations. In particular, Alfa-Bank considered the erroneous assessment of facts by the Council of Europe to be unjustified, leading to the classification of the applicant as belonging to a category of “leading entrepreneurs or legal entities, organizations, or bodies involved in economic sectors that provide a significant source of income for the Government of the Russian Federation.”
Alfa-Bank is part of the international financial consortium Alfa-Group. The Alfa Group Consortium, founded in 1989 by Mikhail Fridman and Anatoly Potik, is one of the largest private financial and investment consortia in Russia. At the same time, Alfa Group is not a legal entity. As of December 31, 2023, the consortium employed more than 430,000 people.
