EU lifts Belarus sanctions on Russian billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev after court wins

The European Union has removed Russian billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev from its Belarus sanctions list following successful court challenges, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Belarusian service reported on Wednesday. Belarusian businessman Viktar Shautsou, also known as Viktor Shevtsov, was removed at the same time.

Both men had been sanctioned over alleged support for President Alexander Lukashenko's government. Their removal follows rulings that the EU Council had not provided sufficient evidence to justify keeping the restrictions in place.

The decision does not end EU sanctions on Gutseriev. He remains subject to separate measures linked to Russia's war in Ukraine, to which he was added on July 23. The Council cited his involvement in industries that generate substantial revenue for the Russian government and investment projects that support it.

Gutseriev founded the Safmar group, whose interests span oil production, coal, real estate, retail and media. The EU first sanctioned him on June 21, 2021. The grounds included investments in Belarus, such as the Nezhin mining and processing plant built by Slavkali, and his presence at Lukashenko's inauguration in September 2020.

His early challenges failed. The EU's General Court rejected his case in September 2023 and the Court of Justice dismissed his appeal in May 2025. The General Court later annulled the renewals of his listing for 2024 in October 2025, and the renewal of February 2025 on May 13 this year.

In the May ruling, the court said the Council had relied mainly on outdated facts and had not shown that Gutseriev still supported the Belarusian authorities or benefited from his ties with them when it extended the measures. It rejected the Council's arguments about continuing interests in Belarus's oil sector and accepted evidence that the Nezhin project was nationalised and that his companies had lost control of it in 2023. The judges acknowledged that Gutseriev and Lukashenko had been close in the past but said the Council had not proved that the relationship continued. They also found that aid to Belarus during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the delivery of medical scanners, was not sufficient grounds for sanctions. The Council was ordered to pay his legal costs.

In court, Gutseriev said he has had no business interests in Belarus since 2022 and described Lukashenko as an acquaintance, according to Belarusian news site Nasha Niva.

The General Court annulled the sanctions on Shautsou in April, finding that the Council had not sufficiently shown grounds for listing him. The Council had nonetheless renewed his listing in February until February 28, 2027. Unlike Gutseriev, Shautsou appears only on the Belarus list, according to Reform.news.

The EU's Belarus sanctions regime covers the situation in Belarus and the country's involvement in Russia's aggression against Ukraine, according to the text of the Council regulation.