Lithuania weighs asset freeze for Usmanov and Fridman

Lithuania’s government will decide on Wednesday whether to freeze the funds and economic resources of Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman under national sanctions, LRT reported.

The Foreign Ministry has proposed keeping the freeze in place until the end of 2027. Lithuania began imposing national sanctions on the two men in late September and added them to its list of undesirable persons, after the European Union removed them from its sanctions list. The EU delisting ended the bloc-wide freeze on their funds and economic resources in Lithuania.

Several countries sought the removal of the EU sanctions. French officials cited national security interests in their request concerning Usmanov but did not provide further details publicly. The Financial Times reported that the request may have been linked to a possible deal to secure the release of French citizens held in Azerbaijan. Diplomats said Luxembourg sought to have sanctions on Fridman lifted because he had sued the country for 15 billion euros in damages over the freezing of his assets under EU sanctions.

Latvia’s government describes Usmanov as an influential Russian businessman with ties to President Vladimir Putin and a major shareholder in USM Holdings. Fridman is also described as a businessman close to Putin and a major shareholder in Alfa Group. In late September, EU member states agreed to extend sanctions for three years against nearly 3,000 people and entities linked to Russia’s aggression.