An attorney for Russian billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky said EU sanctions on him and his family are "an abuse of power" and serve "no understandable, no reasonable purpose under the EU foreign policy goals." In a public appeal of the sanctions in the EU General Court, Pumpyansky said he and his family are "collateral damage in the conflict between Russia and the EU" and are "mere hostages of EU foreign policy," Bloomberg reported April 25. Pumpyansky was listed in March 2022 as founder of Russia's largest pipemaker TMK PJSC. His lawyers said he is not a Russian oligarch and is instead a "self-made businessman."

The EU Court of Justice tossed an appeal from the European Council seeking to reverse a General Court ruling that annulled sanctions on Aisha Muammer Mohamed El-Gadhafi, the daughter of Moammar Gadhafi, under the Libya sanctions regime. The court ruled that the council did not sufficiently support its claim that annulling the sanctions decisions would cause serious and irreversible harm to the effectiveness of the sanctions. Merely alleging that El-Gadhafi might move to prevent fund-freezing measures from being applied was not enough, the court said.

The EU and Ukraine agreed to abide by each other's court decisions under the framework of the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters, the European Council announced. This convention requires signatories to recognize and enforce judgments offered in civil or commercial matters in other states party to the agreement. The EU said there are no "fundamental obstacles" related to the independence of the Ukrainian judiciary that would prevent the treaty from taking effect. The convention will officially enter into force Sept. 1.

A Swiss court found four executives at Gazprombank's Zurich branch guilty of failing to conduct due diligence before opening bank accounts for Russian cellist and Vladimir Putin associate Sergei Roldugin, the BBC reported. The Zurich District Court ruled that it was clear the millions of Swiss francs held in the accounts from 2014 to 2016 did not belong to Roldugin because he had no income, also finding that the bankers should have asked more about the source of the funds, according to another report by Reuters. The four bankers were fined more than $811,000 in total and suspended for two years.

The first panel under the 11-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership was established last week by New Zealand, which is challenging Canadian tariff-rate quotas on dairy. Damien O’Connor, New Zealand's trade minister, said last year the TRQs are "against the rules of the CPTPP" and New Zealand's exporters "are not able to fully benefit from the market access that was negotiated under the agreement." The panel request was made in November.

The U.K. Supreme Court ruled Ukraine can defend a $3 billion Eurobond lawsuit on the grounds it was forced to take on the debt in 2013 due to threats from Russia. The Law Debenture Trust Corp., which is incorporated in England and Wales, sued on Russia's behalf. Ukraine said it need not pay the loan because it was procured by duress stemming from illegal pressure and threats, including sanctions.

The U.K.'s High Court of Justice on March 14 rejected a challenge from Belarus technology company LLC Synesis to its sanctions listing. Justice Robert Jay held that the U.K.'s standard for a listing -- not a finding of fact but "reasonable grounds to suspect" -- is a well-established test under the law. Decision-makers must consider the information "as a whole" and it "cannot be disaggregated or salami-sliced," Jay said. Synesis was listed for supplying the Belarus state with video surveillance and monitoring systems that could be used to suppress protesters.

The EU General Court on March 8 annulled the listing of Nizar Assaad under the Syria sanctions regime, finding the European Council erred in establishing that he is still a businessperson in Syria, has any ties to the ruling Assad or Makhlouf families or is associated with the Syrian regime. The court also said the council violated the principle of legal certainty by retroactively imposing the sanctions in 2011 after confirming that Assaad was not the listed party for the previous 10 years.

The EU General Court in a March 1 opinion granted "interim measures" allowing Russian national Nikita Mazepin, sanctioned in September, to enter the EU to "negotiate his recruitment" as a Formula 1 driver racing under a neutral flag. The opinion marks the first time the court suspended sanctions on a person pending the main hearing of the case, according to the European Sanctions blog.

Shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk is seeking around $43 million from Evergreen Marine over its Ever Given container ship's blockage of the Suez Canal in 2021, ShippingWatch reported. Filing suit at Denmark's Maritime and Commercial Court over losses caused by the Ever Given, Maersk said the blockage forced the company to divert vessels and suffer delays of shipping lines. Evergreen denied liability for the damages, ShippingWatch reported.