Lithuania freezes assets of Russian businessmen Usmanov and Fridman nationally

Lithuania's government on Wednesday approved national asset freezes on Russian businessmen Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman. The decision follows the European Union's removal of both men from its sanctions lists. The restrictions, put forward by the Foreign Ministry, will remain in force until the end of 2027.

Once the EU sanctions were lifted, the bloc-wide freeze on their funds and economic resources no longer applied in Lithuania, so Vilnius introduced its own national measures.

Lithuania's position

Lithuania opposed the EU decision to delist Usmanov and Fridman and abstained in the vote. Both men had already been added to Lithuania's list of undesirable persons in late September.

"Lithuania consistently opposes any removals from the EU sanctions list on political grounds," the Foreign Ministry said. It added that Latvia and Estonia had adopted similar measures.

Why the EU sanctions were lifted

The sanctions against the two were lifted at the request of several member states. French officials cited national security grounds for seeking Usmanov's removal but did not publicly give further details. The Financial Times reported that the move may be linked to a possible deal to secure the release of French citizens detained in Azerbaijan.

Luxembourg, for its part, sought Fridman's removal. He has filed a €15 billion lawsuit against the country over the freezing of his assets.

In late September, EU member states agreed to extend sanctions for three years against nearly 3,000 individuals and entities linked to Russia's aggression.