PARIS (Reuters) – The EU’s General Court on Wednesday handed a win to Russian former F1 driver Nikita Mazepin, who sought to overturn EU sanctions imposed against him as part of the bloc’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“The family connection with his father, Russian businessperson Dmitry Mazepin, is not sufficient for him to be regarded as being linked to his father by common interests and, therefore, for him to be maintained on those lists”, the court said.
The court said the ‘association’ criterion used in the EU’s sanctions regime requires the existence of a link going beyond a simple family relationship.
Mazepin was included on the EU sanctions list due to his association with his father, an influential businessman who – according to the EU – was the main sponsor of his son’s activities as a racing driver.
Nikita Mazepin argues the EU erred in its assessment.
(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel, editing by Bart Meijer)
