This is a judgment by the General Court regarding restrictive measures imposed on Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych, the former President of Ukraine. Yanukovych challenged the Council’s decisions and regulations that included and maintained his name on the list of individuals subject to sanctions for actions undermining Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence. The court dismissed Yanukovych’s action, upholding the Council’s decisions to impose and maintain the restrictive measures against him.
The judgment addresses Yanukovych’s challenge to several Council Decisions and Implementing Regulations from 2022 to 2024. These acts froze his funds and imposed restrictions on his entry into EU member states. The court examines the evidence presented by the Council to justify these measures, focusing on whether Yanukovych’s actions supported or implemented policies that threatened Ukraine’s integrity, sovereignty, and independence. The court assesses the reliability and credibility of the evidence, including press articles and official documents, and considers whether the Council made an error in its assessment.
The court’s decision rests on the finding that the Council had a sufficiently solid factual basis to include and maintain Yanukovych’s name on the sanctions list. The court found that the Council was justified in its assessment that Yanukovych contributed to the destabilization of Ukraine through actions such as requesting military intervention by Russia, supporting pro-Russian politicians in Crimea, and voluntarily reducing Ukraine’s defense capacity. The court also considered his involvement in a Russian operation aimed at replacing the Ukrainian President. The court concludes that these actions provided sufficient grounds for the Council’s decisions, dismissing Yanukovych’s claims that the Council made an error of assessment. ****
