The EU has lifted sanctions against Russian billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev
The European Union has removed Russian billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev and Belarusian businessman Viktor Shevtsov from the EU sanctions list, to which they had been added for supporting Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. This decision followed the businessmen’s victories in court, after which Brussels found no legal grounds to maintain the restrictions.
Initially, Gutseriev was unsuccessful in challenging the sanctions. In September 2023, the General Court of the EU dismissed his lawsuit, and in May 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union rejected his appeal. However, in October 2025, the court annulled the decision on the 2024 sanctions, and on May 13, 2026, it annulled the decision to extend them from February 2025. The court concluded that the Council of the EU had not provided sufficient evidence that Gutseriev continued to support Lukashenko or benefited from ties to his regime.
At the same time, the annulment of these restrictions does not mean that European sanctions against Gutseriev have been completely lifted. On July 23, 2026, he was added to a separate sanctions list related to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The EU Council explained this by citing the billionaire’s activities in sectors of the Russian economy that generate significant budget revenues, as well as his support for the Russian government through investment projects. Viktor Shevtsov does not appear on any other EU sanctions lists.
This is reported by Russian propaganda media.
Sibiga announced new sanctions against Russian oligarchs Friedman and Usmanov.
Earlier, Sibiga criticized the lifting of sanctions against Usmanov and Friedman.
