On June 4, the European Court of Justice denied Russian billionaire German Khan the lifting of EU sanctions.
The billionaire, who was sanctioned by the EU in 2022, challenged sanctions extensions issued in 2023 and 2024.
The justification for the sanctions stated that Khan “is one of the main shareholders of the Alfa Group conglomerate, which includes Alfa Bank, one of Russia’s largest taxpayers. He is considered one of the most influential people in Russia. Like the other owners of Alfa-Bank (Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven), he maintains close relations with Vladimir Putin.”
Later, the following phrases were added to the justification: “AlfaStrakhovanie Insurance Company, a subsidiary of the Alfa Group consortium, provides vehicle insurance for the Federal Service of the National Guard of the Russian Federation… X5 Retail Group, another subsidiary of the Alfa Group consortium, cooperates with Voentorg JSC, an entity subject to restrictive measures that provides catering and laundry services, as well as military uniforms to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and whose subsidiary sells T-shirts with military symbols “Z”.
In court, Khan’s lawyers stated that “he is not a businessman who enjoys any influence on the Russian authorities. LetterOne (an investment company with headquarters in Luxembourg, Herman Khan is one of its founders) is not involved in the Russian economy in any way, he is no longer a shareholder of Alfa-Bank, which he has never managed, he has no ties to President Putin, and he is not influential.”
The court, however, was not convinced by the arguments of German Khan’s lawyers.
German Khan started a business in the 90s after graduating from college, organizing a clothing cooperative. In 1990, he received an invitation to work at Alfa-Eco, part of Alfa Group. He was then the Executive Director and member of the Board of Directors for Alfa Group. In 2017, he joined the board of directors of Alfa-Bank. With a fortune of $8.9 billion, he ranks 219th on the list of richest people in the world according to Forbes as of February 2023.
The court’s decision is available in French.
