Oligarchs take cover, in the West and in Russia
OLIGARCHS UNDER ATTACK IN THE WEST…
It is good news for the Western coalition seeking to strangle the Russian economy, that a judge upheld the U.K. sanctions imposed on Eugene Shvidler. Shvidler, a billionaire who has held senior positions in oil company Sibneft and metals giant Evraz, was designated by the U.K. last year because of his close relationship to Roman Abramovich. Had Shvidler won, it could have unleashed a torrent of similar appeals, at a time when the anti-Kremlin coalition needs as much help as it can get.
The judgment is careful and thorough and worth reading in full. (Although some observers may question the wisdom of the judge’s statement that “this is an area where the Courts have to defer to the judgment” of the foreign minister, considering that the minister in question in early 2022 was Liz Truss, who later that year became the most disastrous prime minister in British history.)
A U.S. and U.K. citizen, Shvidler was the first sanctioned individual to bring a legal challenge against his designation. Had he been successful, it would have been a major threat to the ability of the U.K. to run its post-Brexit sanctions regime and thus to the integrity of the West’s attempted blockade of the Russian economy. Shvidler’s lawyers at Peters & Peters intend to appeal though it’s hard to see much grounds for them to be optimistic, since they seem to be mainly asking for sympathy.
- “The impact of this on him and his family is extreme and far-reaching,” said Michael O’Kane, one of Shvidler’s lawyers. “If this judgment stands, it will make it virtually impossible for any person sanctioned by the Foreign Secretary to bring a successful court challenge.”
It is easy to sympathize a little with the plight of Shvidler’s family: two of his children lost their places at British private schools at important stages in their education and had to move to the United States, which means they rarely see their British-based mother, who lacks U.S. citizenship, and who is now herself struggling to obtain legal or banking services in the U.K.