The European Union has reportedly agreed to lift sanctions on four Russian citizens following threats from Hungary to block the renewal of sanctions against over 2,400 Russian and Belarusian citizens sanctioned over the war in Ukraine.
EU sanctions, which need to be renewed every six months by unanimous vote, were set to expire on March 15. Hungary, which enjoys warmer relations with the Kremlin than most European countries, argued that renewing sanctions would complicate peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. They demanded that eight people — including Mikhail Fridman, Alisher Umanov and Petr Aven — be delisted.
The reasoning behind the delisting of three of the four Russian nationals has not been made public.
Gulbakhor Ismailova
Ismailova is the sister of the Uzbek-Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, whom the EU described as “one of Putin’s favorite oligarchs.” Usmanov struck his first riches making plastic bags and grew his fortune to $16.7 billion through mineral and telecoms companies.
An investigation by the German Federal Police identified her as an immediate beneficiary of her brother’s wealth as she was left the sole beneficial owner of his trust. She was also accused of relying on a network of shell companies to hide this wealth.
Ismailova was stripped of her Cypriot citizenship in April 2022. Almost 3,000 Russians have taken part in Cyprus’ cash-for-passports scheme, which is especially appealing as it grants visa-free access to the European Union.
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
Kantor served as president of the World Jewish Congress for 15 years until April 2022, when he stepped down after being placed on the EU sanctions list. He holds British and Israeli citizenship in addition to his Russian citizenship.
Having made his riches through the Acron Group fertilizer giant, Kantor has an estimated net worth of $9.5 billion. He challenged the decision to sanction him in multiple courts, arguing that the evidence — including a Wikipedia article — used to prove his close ties to the Kremlin and benefitting from the war in Ukraine was insufficient to justify sanctions. His most recent case to the EU General Court was dismissed in January 2025.
Sergei Bobylev / TASS
Mikhail Degtyarev
Russia’s Sports Minister and the president of the scandal-hit Russian Olympic Committee was first sanctioned by the EU in 2014 for announcing the inauguration of an embassy of the Donetsk People’s Republic in Moscow.
In 2020, the Kremlin installed Degtyarev as governor of the Khabarovsk region, which had been rocked by protests over the jailing of popular Governor Sergei Furgal. Reports suggested that the charges against Furgal, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2023, were politically motivated.
Degtyarev struggled to achieve the popularity of his predecessor, who was not expected to win the governorship and led a majority in the regional government.
Arthur Novosiltsev / Moskva News Agency
Vladimir Rashevsky
European officials told the Financial Times that the lifting of sanctions against Rashevsky was requested by countries other than Hungary for “legal reasons” after he successfully challenged his sanctions in court in 2024.
Rashevsky was sanctioned in March 2022 for being among the prominent businessmen who met with President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 24, the day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He is the director of one of the world’s largest mineral fertilizer companies, EuroChem Group, and had a 92.2% stake in the Siberian Coal Energy Company until he resigned following his inclusion on the EU sanctions list.
In 2024, the EU General Court annulled the European Council’s previous decisions to renew sanctions against Rashevsky, concluding that the evidence provided was not specific enough to justify restrictions against him.
Sergei Bobylev / TASS
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