Sanctions

Introduction and Factual Background: Fridman v Luxembourg In February 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the European Union placed Mikhail Fridman on its sanctions list. The designation subjected the Russian-Israeli businessman’s funds and economic resources to an asset freeze, affecting interests held through Luxembourg - including his 37.9% ownership of the investment group…

Economic coercion remains ill-defined in international law, but its importance is growing ever more evident by the day. At various points, for example, a negotiated settlement to the US-Iran War has reportedly been blocked in key part by disagreements over $24 billion in assets frozen by the US Office of…

As Russia’s war against Ukraine rages, inflicting suffering on the country, its people, and economy, the Russian Central Bank (RCB) assets remain immobilised (i.e., frozen). Since December 2025, the EU, on whose territory a significant chunk of these assets has been immobilised, – €210 bn worth of assets out of approximately €290 bn  – modified the legal…

Bulgaria won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna with Dara’s “Bangaranga”; Israel finished second; and five countries, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland, stayed away in protest at Israel’s participation. That combination, spectacle, boycott and contested belonging, is a useful entry point into a wider legal problem. Eurovision is not the United…