The defense announced the "ruined life" of Friedman due to sanctions

The EU insists that the Russian , as a co-founder of Alfa Group, "has close ties to the Russian political regime." The businessman's defense denied accusations of facilitating military operations in Ukraine and benefiting from them Mikhail Fridman

The life of Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman, who fell under European sanctions , "was destroyed," his lawyer at the European COURT of General Jurisdiction said, BLOOMBERG reports .

Friedman's defense has denied accusations against him from the EU that he is an "accomplice" of the Russian authorities, supported military operations in his native Ukraine (the businessman was born in Lvov) and benefited from this.

“These accusations have a very negative impact on his life and are not based on anything,” said the Russian lawyer Thierry Maramber at the trial. According to him, the EU's evidence is "not credible" and is "blank chit-chat."

Last spring, after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, Fridman, along with other major shareholders of Alfa Group, Petr Aven, Alexei Kuzmichev and German Khan, fell under EU and UK sanctions , their assets were frozen. After that, they left their positions in the leadership of Alfa-Bank and LetterOne. Friedman lives in London .

The businessman called the conflict in Ukraine “a tragedy for both peoples,” however, Bloomberg points out, he refrained from criticizing Putin, so he still faced restrictions. Last spring, Friedman sued the EU court .

Brussels insists that the Russian, as a co-founder of Alfa Group, "has close ties to the Russian political regime."

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After Friedman came under sanctions, he admitted that he did not know how to live on. His bank card in the UK was blocked. The businessman said that he now needed to apply for permission to spend money from the British government, which should determine whether his request was "reasonable".

As reported by Bloomberg, in this case, his expenses will not exceed £2,500 ($3,180) per month.

Friedman also said that he tried to stay out of politics, and meetings of business representatives (including Fridman) with Putin were not of the importance that Brussels attaches to them in the justification for sanctions. “The distance between Putin and anyone else is like the distance between Earth and space,” he argued.

Friedman compared his life under sanctions to house arrest.