Supreme court dismisses appeal by Russian-born tycoon, in test case of sanctions regime
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A business associate of the oligarch Roman Abramovich has failed to overturn sanctions imposed on him after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, after a supreme court judgment seen as a test case for the UK’s sanctions regime.
Eugene Shvidler served on the board of companies owned by the former owner of Chelsea football club and now lives in the US. He was placed under sanctions by the UK government in March 2022 as part of measures to target Russia-linked oligarchs and officials after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
Shvidler, who was born in the USSR in 1964, grew up in Moscow but is now a British citizen, had challenged his designation at the high court in 2023 and then appealed against that decision last year. He argued the measures caused disproportionate hardship and discriminated against him as a Russian-born person, while also claiming he was not closely associated enough to Abramovich to justify the Foreign Office’s move.
