Abramovich ally fights UK sanctions in landmark court case
By Sam Tobin
LONDON (Reuters) -A billionaire ally of Russian businessman Roman Abramovich on Thursday accused Britain of trying to force him to publicly condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as he asked London's High Court to overturn British sanctions imposed on him.
Eugene Shvidler, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes magazine at $1.6 billion, became the "poster boy for Russian sanctions" when his two private jets were seized in March 2022, just after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, his lawyers argue.
The businessman was sanctioned that month by Britain's Foreign Office on the grounds of his association with former Chelsea Football Club owner Abramovich.
Britain also cites Shvidler's position as a director of London-listed Russian steel producer Evraz and role at Russian oil company Sibneft, sold by Abramovich in 2005, as evidence he obtained a financial benefit from Abramovich.
But Shvidler – a dual British-U.S. citizen – argues Britain was wrong to impose sanctions just because of his relationship with Abramovich, whom he describes as a close friend.
His lawyers say Shvidler did not receive any financial benefits from Abramovich, saying any payment he received from Evraz or Sibneft was from those companies and not Abramovich.
Shvidler in March 2022 called for an end to the "senseless violence in Ukraine," a statement Britain's Foreign Office has said did not "clearly condemn Russia's invasion."
He said, in a witness statement released by his lawyers on Thursday, that he was shocked the Foreign Office wanted him to make "a further statement that would immediately make me guilty of treason" under Russian law.
Citing the murder of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, the attempted murder of former double agent Sergei Skripal and the alleged poisoning of Abramovich during peace negotiations last year, Shvidler said Russia was known to use violence against "those it deems to be traitors."
He also said that any further public statement on Russia's invasion of Ukraine could place his family – and Abramovich and his family – "in great personal jeopardy."
Shvidler's case will be closely watched as the first substantive challenge to British sanctions imposed following Russia's invasion.
Western governments have sanctioned a raft of people and businesses over their alleged connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government, prompting legal challenges from those who say they have been unfairly targeted.
Britain has sanctioned around 1,600 people – including Abramovich, who is separately challenging sanctions imposed by the EU – following last year's invasion of Ukraine and frozen more than 18 billion pounds ($23 billion) in assets.
But Shvidler's lawyer, David Anderson, told the High Court that Shvidler has no relationship with Putin, no involvement in Russian politics and has not even been to Russia since attending the late Russian President Boris Yeltsin's funeral in 2007.
The effect of British sanctions has been to "destroy his ability to deal with his assets and conduct his business, to disrupt his life and ... to shatter his reputation," Anderson said in court filings.
However, Britain's Foreign Office argues his association with Abramovich – who it says has benefitted financially from supporting Putin's government regime – justifies the sanctions.
Britain believes sanctioning Shvidler will "incentivise him to put pressure on Mr Abramovich to encourage President Putin to cease or limit" Russia's war in Ukraine, its lawyer James Eadie said in court filings.
The sanctioning of Shvidler sends a signal to him and others that "there are negative consequences to having implicitly legitimised the government of Russia's actions," Eadie said.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin in LondonEditing by Angus MacSwan and Matthew Lewis)
