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European Union ambassadors agreed on Monday to lift sanctions on Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, provided no member government objected within a few hours, diplomats told Reuters.
The agreement is part of a package that renews sanctions on thousands of other Russian individuals and companies for three years, far longer than the six- or twelve-month extensions the bloc has used until now.
Both men were sanctioned in 2022 over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which froze their assets in the EU and barred them from travelling there. The EU said at the time that Usmanov had "particularly close ties" to Vladimir Putin.
France pushed for Usmanov's removal this month, joining Slovakia and angering several other member states. Three European diplomats told Reuters last week that Paris acted under pressure from Azerbaijan, which has detained at least two French citizens, and the Financial Times reported that France wanted the delisting as part of an arrangement to secure their release. A senior Azerbaijani diplomat rejected that account on Friday, and France has not publicly confirmed it sought the change.
Luxembourg then demanded Fridman's removal. Fridman is claiming $16 billion from Luxembourg in international arbitration, and diplomats said the country argued that delisting Usmanov alone would weaken its case for keeping sanctions on Fridman.
The dispute had already delayed the renewal. Ambassadors extended the existing sanctions by a week on Sept. 15 rather than let them lapse while the two cases were argued out. Ukraine's government called Monday's decision unacceptable.
Usmanov has also faced prosecutors in Germany. Munich prosecutors investigated him on suspicion of breaching foreign trade law and violating sanctions, alleging that he paid about €1.5 million through companies abroad between April and September 2022 for security at two properties on Lake Tegernsee, and that he failed to declare jewellery, paintings and wine. The case was dropped last year after he paid a €10 million fine.
Usmanov was born in Uzbekistan and built his fortune in iron ore and steel through Metalloinvest and in telecoms. Fridman co-founded Alfa Group, one of Russia's largest private conglomerates.
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