The Court of Justice of the European Union has decided to lift EU sanctions against Andrey Kozitsyn, the former director general of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company.
The decision was made on September 18, considering two cases – T-607/22 and T-731/22.
The businessman was added to the EU sanctions list in 2022, the justification for inclusion in the list stated: “he is an influential Russian businessman. He is the co-founder and CEO of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC), one of the largest Russian companies producing basic commodities (including copper, zinc, coal, gold and silver). Thus, he is an influential Russian businessman operating in sectors of the economy that constitute a significant source of income for the Government of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of Ukraine.”
In August 2021, Kozitsin resigned from his position at UMMC.
In court, his lawyers argued that the businessman should not be considered either an influential businessman or someone working in a sector that represented a significant source of income for the Russian government.
After Andrey Kozitsyn left UMMC, he invested in hotel businesses and a company that operates in the ready-to-eat food segment.
