In Cases T-563/21 and T-564/2 and Case T-245/21, the General Court of the EU has rejected the application for de-listing from Bremino-Grupp and 2 of its co-owners, Alexander Zaytsev and Mikalai Varabei.
Bremino-Grupp was listed for receiving state aid to develop the Bremino-Orsha zone, & receiving financial, tax, and other benefits from the regime. Mr Zaytsev was listed for being a Belarus businessman, co-owner of Bremino-Grupp, owner of the Sohra Group, and Viktor Lukashenko’s former aide. Mr Varabei was listed by the EU Council in December 2020 for being a leading businessman operating in Belarus as co-owner of Bremino-Grupp.
The court held that:
- the Bremino-Grupp and Zaytsev listings were adequately reasoned;
- Mr Zaystev’s right to effective judicial protection was not breached by the Council failing to notify him of his listing (because the Council did not know his address);
- the Council did not make an error of assessment in considering that the owners of the Bremino-Grupp were part of a restricted inner circle of President Lukashenko, & the group received financial and other benefits from the regime, including tax breaks; and
- the EU did not make an error in assessing that Mr Varabei was one of the leading businesspeople operating in Belarus with financial interests in the petroleum, coal transit, and banking sectors – the fact that Bremino-Grupp was granted tax breaks from the Belarus government supported the view that Mr Varabei was benefiting from and supporting the regime. The court said the fact that other companies which received greater tax advantages were not designated does not invalidate Mr Varabei’s designation.
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