Lithuania imposes national sanctions on Usmanov and Fridman

Since September 25, Lithuania has begun enforcing national sanctions against Russian-origin oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman. The move was announced on Monday by Rokas Pukinskas, a representative of the Migration Department, as quoted by Lithuanian broadcaster LRT.

The decision followed the European Union's removal of both men from its own restrictive measures lists. Lithuania chose to keep restrictions on them in place at the national level.

Five-year entry ban

Under the decision, both oligarchs are barred from entering Lithuania for five years. The ban may later be reviewed and extended.

Pukinskas explained that, on a proposal from the foreign minister, the interior minister decided to add Usmanov and Fridman to the list of persons non grata. As soon as the minister's decision was received, the Migration Department immediately entered both foreign nationals onto that list.

EU decision to drop the oligarchs from its lists

On September 22, the Council of the EU decided to extend restrictive measures against individuals responsible for undermining or threatening Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence for another 36 months. However, Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman were specifically removed from that list.

Following the EU's decision, Estonia and Latvia also announced the introduction of their own national sanctions against the two men.