Luxembourg\u2019s handling of Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman\u2019s $16 billion compensation claim remains under fire, with opposition MP Franz Fayot criticising the government\u2019s communication and legal approach. Fridman, whose assets were frozen under EU sanctions, has since been removed from the sanctions list, but Fayot warns this does not necessarily resolve the arbitration case. The government assumes the legal basis no longer exists, but he describes the situation as unresolved, with no guarantee of closure.<\/p>\n
Speaking on RTL, Fayot highlighted Prime Minister Luc Frieden\u2019s brief responses in a parliamentary committee, including a lack of clarity on potential contacts with Fridman\u2019s legal team. The LSAP MP has requested access to the government\u2019s legal opinions, arguing decisions cannot be made arbitrarily. He also accused the government of being unaware of a \u2018No-Claims\u2019 provision in the EU\u2019s 18th sanctions package, which could have shielded Luxembourg from such lawsuits.<\/p>\n
Fayot, whose party opposed removing Fridman from the sanctions list, argues the move undermines EU solidarity with Ukraine and sends a dangerous signal to Eastern European allies. He dismisses Fridman\u2019s claim as exaggerated, estimating his assets at \u20ac5\u20136 billion, but warns Luxembourg is surrendering a key bargaining chip by unfreezing them. The claim amounts to roughly half of Luxembourg\u2019s annual state budget, suggesting a deliberate tactic to leverage pressure.<\/p>\n
The MP calls for a European discussion on collective liability, arguing that if sanctions are decided jointly, EU solidarity must extend to compensation claims. He cites Belgium\u2019s Euroclear case as a precedent, warning small financial hubs like Luxembourg are vulnerable to such legal actions. Fayot also criticises the government\u2019s stance on Israel, urging stronger national measures, including an arms embargo and sanctions against illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
On the draft national budget, Fayot questions how the government plans to balance rising deficits with promised investments and tax reforms, warning excessive spending now could lead to austerity measures later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russian oligarch\u2019s $16bn claim tests Luxembourg\u2019s legal and political defences<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}