Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2023:490
Date: 2023-09-06
Language of the case: English
Court formation: First Chamber
Subject matter: External relations;Common foreign and security policy
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded

Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 6 September 2023 – Pumpyanskiy v Council (Case T‑270/22) (1) (Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine – Freezing of funds – Inclusion of the applicant’s name on the lists of persons, entities and bodies concerned – Error of assessment – Concept of ‘leading businessperson’ – Proportionality) 1. European Union – Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions – Restrictive measures taken having regard to the situation in Ukraine – Scope of the review – Proof that the measure is well founded – Obligation on the competent EU authority to establish, in the event of challenge, that the reasons relied on against the persons or entities concerned are well founded (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2022/397, Annex; Council Regulations No 269/2014 and No 2022/396, Annex) (see paragraphs 31-33) 2. European Union – Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions – Restrictive measures taken having regard to the situation in Ukraine – Scope of the review – Inclusion of the applicant on the list annexed to the contested decision due to his status as a leading businessperson involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of Russia – Publicly available documents – Probative value (Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2022/397, Annex; Council Regulations No 269/2014 and No 2022/396, Annex) (see paragraphs 35, 38-42) 3. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures taken having regard to the situation in Ukraine – Freezing of funds – Action for annulment brought by a person who is the subject of a fund-freezing decision – Allocation of the burden of proof – Decision based on a set of indicia – Probative value – Scope (Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2022/397, Annex; Council Regulations No 269/2014 and 2022/396, Annex) (see paragraphs 47-56, 58) 4. European Union – Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions – Restrictive measures taken having regard to the situation in Ukraine – Scope of the review – Assessment of the legality by reference to the information available at the time of adoption of the decision (Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2022/397, Annex; Council Regulations No 269/2014 and 2022/396, Annex) (see paragraphs 61, 62) 5. Common foreign and security policy – Restrictive measures taken having regard to the situation in Ukraine – Freezing of funds of certain persons and entities having regard to the situation in Ukraine – Restriction of the right to property – Breach of principle of proportionality –None (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 17 and 52(1); Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2022/397, Arts 1(6), 2(3) and (4), and Annex; Council Regulations No 269/2014, Arts 4(1), 5(1) and 6(1), and 2022/396, Annex) (see paragraphs 74-78, 80-88, 90, 93, 95) Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Mr Dmitry Alexandrovich Pumpyanskiy to pay the costs. 1 OJ C 257, 4.7.2022.