Swiss-Russian claims EU Council ignored Court's sanctions annulment

Swiss-Russian Alexander Pumpyanskiy has told Euronews that his continued inclusion on the EU sanctions list is aberrant and shows the Council is flying against a decision of the EU Courts.

Alexander Pumpyanskiy, son of Russian businessman Dmitry Pumpyanskiy, is a long-term resident of Geneva who previously held positions in companies formerly owned by his father.

He was originally included in sanctions lists as associated with his father, Dmitry Pumpyanskiy, based upon positions he held in his companies, but is now listed under the EU’s 2023 amended sanctions criteria, which include "close family members who benefit from listed individuals."

The General Court annulled these decisions, noting procedural flaws and insufficient justification since Pumpyanskiy had resigned from his corporate positions, and the Council did not appeal the decision.

"Unfortunately the Council didn’t execute the decision, and 18 months later I find myself still on the sanctions list," Pumpyanskiy told Euronews, adding, "It's a completely aberrant decision, which I don’t understand; effectively, the Council is not implementing the court’s decision when it doesn’t suit them."

"The reason for listing me in 2022 was the association with my father," he said, adding that "it been three years since I left the board of those companies and I won the case, so the only thing left on which to base the decision is the relationship to my father."

In the interview, Pumpyanskiy related his experience of sanctions.

"The first thing is that your finances are affected. The banks block your accounts. That’s the first stage; after that, other problems follow: you’re cut from all the basic services that everyone needs, especially mobile phones, domestic internet,  insurance, cars, etc., so, bit by bit, daily life became extremely complicated for me."

The Council did not respond to a request for comment.