Dispute over oligarchs: France and Slovakia block sanctions on Russia

The routine extension of Russia sanctions has failed in the EU for the time being. According to the Irish Presidency, the 27 EU member states were unable to agree to extend by one year the punitive measures against around 3,000 Russian individuals, entities and companies that expire on Tuesday.

Slovakia and France in particular prevented the required unanimity. “We have a specific national security problem and we would like to respond positively to our international partners who are contacting us about Mr Usmanov,” the AFP news agency quoted French diplomatic sources as saying.

Accordingly, Slovakia should demand that the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, who comes from Uzbekistan, be removed from the sanctions list before the extension. The EU sanctions decision of February 28, 2022 states that Usmanov is "a pro-Kremlin oligarch with particularly close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He is described as one of Vladimir Putin's favorite oligarchs."

Usmanov actively provided material or financial support to Russian decision-makers who were responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of Ukraine, according to the sanctions list imposed four days after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has been in power again since 2023, is considered particularly Russia-friendly. According to the EU, Usmanov "holds interests in companies in the iron ore and steel, media and internet sectors. His largest holding is the steel giant Metalloinvest." The US business magazine Forbes rates the 73-year-old as number 199 on the list of the richest people in the world with a fortune of 14 billion dollars. That would put him in 10th place in Russia.

But the situation is even more confusing: Italy and Croatia are also said to be in favor of removing Usmanov. France not only wants to accommodate Slovakia, but also to achieve another goal: the release of several French citizens imprisoned in Azerbaijan, as the Financial Times speculates. What exactly this deal is about is still unclear. Neither the French nor Azerbaijani governments nor Usmanov himself answered press questions about this.

Slovakia and Luxembourg are said to also want to remove Moscow banker Mikhail Fridman from the list. At the same time, however, the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance has asked the public prosecutor's office to investigate allegations of evasion of Russia sanctions and possible insider trading by former executives of the local branch of Gazprombank. Finance Minister Gilles Roth announced this in a closed meeting of the Finance Committee, as four MPs present reported to the Financial Times. The USA, in turn, put the second largest Russian state bank VTB on its sanctions list on Tuesday - but because of the sanctions against Iran.