EU court throws out Belarusian tycoon’s lawsuit

June 7, BPN. The European Union’s top court has rejected a lawsuit by a Belarusian tycoon who challenged his inclusion on the bloc’s sanctions list over the crackdown on civil society in his country.

The Court of Justice said that Alaksandr Šakucin was one of the main beneficiaries of privatization under Alaksandr Łukašenka and had close links to his government and loyalist groups.

It also cited Šakucin’s public condemnation of the protests and his attendance at Łukašenka’s secretive inauguration ceremony in 2020 as evidence of his support for the regime.

The court dismissed Šakucin’s arguments and ordered him to pay the litigation fees.

The European Union imposed sanctions on Šakucin and some other Belarusian businesspeople and officials in December 2020.