EU General Court Rejects Belarusian's Appeal of Sanctions Listing
The EU General Court on Nov. 8 rejected Mikalai Varabei's application to annul his sanctions listing under the EU's Belarus sanctions regime. Varabei was challenging the European Council's finding that his activities in various Belarussian economic sectors show that he benefits from President Aleksandr Lukashenko's regime.
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While Varabei didn't dispute that he is a leading businessperson in Belarus in the petroleum, coal transit and banking sectors, he said that his financial interests in these sectors "do not justify the conclusion that he benefits from and supports the regime of President Lukashenko." He added that his ties to the sectors have dropped significantly over time.
The court found these claims to be bogus, holding that evidence from the European Council shows that Varabei's activities in the petroleum sector "are not reduced" and, in contradiction to his claims, were further developed over time. Similar holdings were made in regard to Varabei's links to the coal transit and banking sectors.
Varabei also challenged the council's position that he should be sanctioned given his ties to the Bremino-Grupp, a company that received a tax reduction from the Belarusian government. Varabei claimed that Bremino-Grupp did not benefit from these advantages since it "never made a profit" and received smaller tax advantages than other companies. The court said it matters not whether the company actually used the advantages it received, and that the relative tax advantage of the company is irrelevant since the council made a proper showing linking Varabei to the Belarusian state.