Mr. Pumpyansky's court victory covers his inclusion on the EU sanctions list from September 2022, March 2023, and September 2023, providing that he was unlawfully listed for a minimum period of 18 months, with material implications and infringements on his fundamental rights.
Due to procedural reasons, our client's latest March 2024 listing was not included in the lawsuit decided by the General Court in his favor. Consequently, despite winning in Luxembourg, Mr. Pumpyansky remains listed based on the same criteria, listing grounds and equivalent evidence as the General Court has declared unlawful for the September 2023 listing.
The EU's practice of re-imposing sanctions every six months, combined with lengthy court proceedings - as in Mr. Pumpyansky's case - often results in continuous sanctions despite successful legal challenges. This creates a "perpetuum mobile of illegal sanctions", a procedural "Frankenstein" that contradicts the rule of law and the principle of separation of powers, as the Council essentially overrides court rulings. Equally, this practice undermines judicial protection and highlights a systemic weakness in legal safeguards, violating Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (the right to an effective remedy).
It remains to be hoped that the EU Council will respect the General Court's unambiguous ruling and delist Mr. Pumpyansky at the next opportunity.
Mr. Pumpyansky is represented by LGP since April 2022 and we are fighting relentlessly to clear his name and remove him from the sanctions list. Mr. Pumpyansky's legal team at LGP is led by Gabriel Lansky and Philip Goeth, and include Anna Zeitlinger, Martin Jacko, Alexander Egger, Elizaveta Dubrovskaya, Konstantin Oppolzer, Jakub Hanesch and Alexey Nenashev.
