Gherson Succeeds In Another Ukrainian Case At General Court Of The EU

21 Feb 2018, 06 mins ago

Gherson have acted for Sergiy Klyuyev since April 2014. Mr Klyuyev was placed on the EU sanctions list in March 2014 in connection with allegations of misappropriation of state funds by several members and associates of Victor Yanukovych’s government.

Today, 21 February 2018, the General Court of the EU has annulled the financial sanctions imposed upon Mr Klyuyev by the EU Council from March 2017 to March 2018.

We have maintained throughout that these sanctions were nothing more than a politically motivated attack on him by elements of the new government in Ukraine.

On 8 January 2016, the General Court of the EU annulled the original sanctions against our client from March 2014 to March 2015. However, following the hearing of that case, fresh sanctions were imposed by the EU and our client was forced to mount a further legal challenge. See here.

The judgment is a powerful vindication of our client’s position throughout. The General Court held that the evidence provided by the Ukrainian authorities to justify the imposition of sanctions was, “incomplete and tainted with inconsistencies”. The Council should have sought further clarification and evidence before proceeding to re-impose the sanctions.

Roger Gherson and Thomas Garner of Gherson solicitors and Brian Kennelly QC and Jason Pobjoy of Blackstone Chambers have been instructed in the case since April 2014 and today marks the culmination of nearly 4 years of litigation before the EU Court.

The imposition of these sanctions has caused our client and his family significant distress and reputational damage and has had a devastating effect on his business interests. Our client welcomes today’s verdict and intends to aggressively pursue damages for the harm these sanctions have caused.

The judgment can be found here.

All enquiries to Roger Gherson of these offices.

 

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

©Gherson 2018