The Court of the EU, after suspending sanctions against Nikita Mazepin, a Formula 1 driver and son of a Russian oligarch, has annulled the acts that keep his name on the list of individuals sanctioned due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, because being the son of an oligarch is not enough to be "listed". In March 2022, the Court reconstructs, Nikita Mazepin was included in the list of individuals subject to restrictive measures adopted by the Union following Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Mazepin saw his assets frozen and was banned from entering the territory of the Member States. His inclusion in the list is based on his association with his father, Dmitry Mazepin, a prominent businessman active in economic sectors that constitute a significant source of income for the Russian government. According to the Council, Dmitry Mazepin was the main sponsor of his son's racing activities in the Haas Formula 1 team, through companies to which he is connected.
Due to the maintenance acts adopted in September 2022, in March and September 2023, the Council extended the restrictive measures against Nikita Mazepin until March 15, 2024. Considering the acts flawed by a misjudgment of the Council, Nikita Mazepin asked the European Union Court to annul them. With the judgment, the Court accepts his request and annuls the maintenance acts of Nikita Mazepin in the lists of sanctioned individuals. The judges recall that for 'association', the criterion applied to Nikita Mazepin, it means being generally linked by common interests. According to jurisprudence, this criterion implies the existence of a bond that goes beyond a mere family relationship, demonstrated in light of a set of "sufficiently concrete, precise, and consistent" clues. In the circumstances of the case, the Court declares that the Council has not fulfilled the burden of proof to demonstrate such a link.
The association between Nikita Mazepin and his father "is not at all demonstrated on an economic or capitalistic level or by the existence of common interests that would bind them at the time of the adoption of the maintenance acts". Regarding the alleged sponsorship of Nikita Mazepin by his father, the Court notes, in particular, that, since March 2022, Nikita is no longer a racing driver for Haas. The maintenance acts are therefore based, in fact, only on the family relationship, "which is not sufficient to maintain his name in the lists of individuals subject to restrictive measures".
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