Luxembourg helped secure the removal of Russian-Israeli businessman Mikhail Fridman from the European Union\u2019s sanctions list, but the change has not resolved his approximately $16 billion compensation claim against the country. The dispute leaves Luxembourg facing a continuing arbitration in which the amount sought by the claimant remains unconfirmed by any award.<\/p>\n
Fridman was placed on the EU sanctions list in February 2022, following Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The asset freeze affected his funds and economic resources, including interests held through Luxembourg. His investments included a 37.9 per cent ownership stake in an investment group, according to the European Journal of International Law\u2019s EJIL: Talk! blog.<\/p>\n
Fridman subsequently challenged the sanctions through legal proceedings. In April 2024, the EU General Court annulled the acts listing and maintaining him on the sanctions list for the period from 28 February 2022 to 15 March 2023. The court found that the evidence relied upon by the Council did not sufficiently substantiate the relevant listing criteria. Later listings remained in place and were challenged separately.<\/p>\n
The dispute also moved into investment arbitration. Fridman brought a claim against Luxembourg in 2024, seeking approximately $16 billion in compensation. His claim invokes the 1989 Bilateral Investment Treaty between the Belgium\u2013Luxembourg Economic Union and the Soviet Union. He alleges that the freezing of his assets interfered with investments protected under that treaty. These are allegations in an unresolved case, not findings that Luxembourg unlawfully imposed sanctions or owes compensation.<\/p>\n
On 22 September 2026, the Council removed Fridman from the EU sanctions list. The EJIL: Talk! account reports that Luxembourg advocated for his removal after initially supporting the continuation of the sanctions. Prime Minister Luc Frieden subsequently said the government had reconsidered its position following developments in wider negotiations over the sanctions list, including France\u2019s push to remove fellow businessman Alisher Usmanov.<\/p>\n
A separate report by CEOWORLD, citing reporting by Paperjam, says Fridman\u2019s lawyer, Aaron Bass, acknowledged Luxembourg\u2019s positive role in lifting the restrictions. However, the lawyer did not commit his client to withdrawing or changing the compensation claim. The report states that Fridman was still assessing his legal strategy and that the arbitration had not been withdrawn.<\/p>\n
The distinction matters for Luxembourg because removing a person from a sanctions list and resolving a claim for alleged past losses are separate legal questions. The delisting changes Fridman\u2019s sanctions status, but it does not by itself settle his demand for compensation. The $16 billion figure represents the amount claimed, not a tribunal award or an established liability for the state.<\/p>\n
The arbitration therefore remains a direct financial and legal issue for Luxembourg. Until the proceedings are resolved or the claim is otherwise withdrawn or settled, the available evidence does not establish whether Fridman will receive compensation, or whether the government\u2019s role in securing his delisting will lead to any change in the case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sanctions have been lifted, but a multibillion-dollar legal dispute remains open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-france"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5864","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=5864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}