The EU will not extend the sanctions against three Russian businessmen

The European Union will not extend the sanctions for the war in Ukraine against three Russian businessmen when the previously imposed restrictive measures against them expire later this week. This was reported by Reuters on Tuesday with reference to two diplomatic sources.

We are talking about businessman Hryhoria Berezkin, billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov and former general director of the Ozon online store Alexander Shulgin. The Russian military commander, Colonel Georgy Shuvaev, who died last year, will also be excluded from the “black” list.

The European Union needs the consent of all 27 member countries of the bloc to impose sanctions, which are extended every six months. The current restrictions expire on September 15, Reuters notes.

Currently, there are about 1,600 individuals and over 200 legal entities on the EU sanctions list. Sanctions have been introduced and extended since 2014 – after Russia annexed Crimea.

Farkhad Akhmedov, as indicated in connection with sanctions in official European documents, is connected with the work of the Russian oil and gas sectors, Berezkin is a businessman from Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, related to a number of spheres, including media, infrastructure and energy.

Agentstvo.Novosti, in connection with the Reuters communication, notes that the lifting of sanctions against Grigory Berezkin is of special interest. Last year, articles appeared in the world mass media that whitewashed him. These publications had signs of a PR campaign to lift sanctions, the Telegram channel writes. The publication also notes that Berezkin controls the ESN group, which is closely connected with the Russian authorities. In 2021, he ranked 57th in the ranking of the richest businessmen in Russia according to Forbes. He owns the RBC holding.