EU General Court Annuls Gutseriev's 2025 Belarus Sanctions Listing for Lack of Evidence
The EU's General Court has annulled the February 2025 Belarus sanctions relisting of Mikhail Gutseriev — a prominent Russian businessman — for the second time, following an earlier annulment of his 2024 relisting in Case T-233/24.
Gutseriev was originally sanctioned by the EU in 2021 under Regulation 765/2006, on grounds that included allegations he had transported Russian workers to Belarus to replace striking state media employees. Several of those original grounds were dropped when he was relisted in 2025.
Before the Court, Gutseriev argued that the Council's justification for maintaining his listing was outdated and factually unsupported. He noted that his Nezhinsky potash project had been nationalised by Belarus in 2023, that his energy sector connections related solely to the 2020 Russia-Belarus oil crisis, and that his commercial property interests in Minsk were insufficient to establish ongoing regime support. He also denied any current personal relationship with President Lukashenko.
The Court agreed on all key points, finding that:
Gutseriev was originally sanctioned by the EU in 2021 under Regulation 765/2006, on grounds that included allegations he had transported Russian workers to Belarus to replace striking state media employees. Several of those original grounds were dropped when he was relisted in 2025.
Before the Court, Gutseriev argued that the Council's justification for maintaining his listing was outdated and factually unsupported. He noted that his Nezhinsky potash project had been nationalised by Belarus in 2023, that his energy sector connections related solely to the 2020 Russia-Belarus oil crisis, and that his commercial property interests in Minsk were insufficient to establish ongoing regime support. He also denied any current personal relationship with President Lukashenko.
The Court agreed on all key points, finding that:
- The Council had no updated evidence linking Gutseriev to the successor entity of the nationalised potash project
- The energy sector grounds were based entirely on events from 2020 — five years prior to the relisting
- Commercial property interests alone could not independently justify the designation
- Alleged 2023 meetings with Lukashenko were not proven, and a music competition win by Lukashenko's daughter-in-law at an event linked to Gutseriev did not demonstrate current regime ties
- The 2020 COVID-19 scanner donation was too dated to serve as supporting evidence once other grounds had fallen away
- Gutseriev nonetheless remains subject to EU sanctions, having been relisted again in February 2026 on the same grounds as the now-annulled 2025 listing.
