On September 22, 2026, the European Union removed Russian-Uzbek metals tycoon Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from its Russia sanctions list. Simultaneously, the Council extended broader restrictions covering more than 3,000 individuals and entities until September 22, 2029, trading selective relief for a three-year sanctions horizon.
Europe has opted for a longer sanctions horizon by trading away two prominent billionaire listings.
The Diplomatic Bargain Behind the Usmanov and Fridman Delistings
Two billionaire names became the price of securing years of sanctions continuity. On September 22, 2026, the European Union agreed to remove Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from its Russia sanctions list. At the same time, the bloc renewed restrictions covering more than 3,000 individuals and entities for three years, extending the measures until September 22, 2029.
The policy shift involved distinct national pressures. France pressed for Usmanov’s removal, citing national security concerns, while Luxembourg sought the same outcome for Fridman, who has brought a $16 billion claim against the country. Latvia served as the final holdout, abstaining from the vote. Because abstention does not block unanimity, the agreement proceeded and received formal approval through a written procedure after the deadline moved from September 15 to midnight on September 22.
National Interests and Legal Exposure in Paris and Luxembourg
European diplomats described French concerns involving at least two French nationals detained in Azerbaijan. According to these diplomats, Paris privately accused Baku of using Usmanov’s case to blackmail
France, an allegation that Azerbaijan rejected. President Ilham Aliyev had previously advocated Usmanov’s delisting, though his specific reasons remained unclear.
Luxembourg’s exposure centered on financial and legal risks. Fridman’s $16 billion claim gave the dispute a substantial monetary dimension, but CEOWORLD Magazine noted that a claim is neither an award nor an established liability, meaning the agreement provides no basis for treating that sum as a settlement, a payment avoided, or a gain realized.
Latvia’s Resistance and the Wider Administrative Revision
Before this, authorities in Riga took legal steps to keep restrictive measures in place against Fridman and his business associate Petr Aven, who holds dual Russian and Latvian citizenship. Because Aven was stripped of Latvia’s top civilian award in 2022 for omitting any condemnation of Russia’s full-scale assault on Ukraine, Fridman’s ties to him carried heightened sensitivity for Riga. High-level discussions in Europe and around the UN General Assembly in New York ultimately helped resolve the impasse.
Beyond the two prominent billionaires, the wider list revision included non-renewal for three individual listings, one entity listing, and the removal of three deceased people. These aggregate figures highlight how the diplomatic bargain and the full administrative revision operated as different measures of the final outcome.
Evaluating the Sanctions Continuity Framework
Moving from six months to 36 months makes the renewal period six times as long, replacing the uncertainty of repeated scheduled expiry decisions across six conventional half-year periods. CEOWORLD Magazine termed the concessions accepted to secure that longer horizon the sanctions continuity premium,
noting that it describes a political trade-off rather than a financial valuation.
Usmanov and Fridman were originally sanctioned in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine under measures that included asset freezes, travel restrictions, and prohibitions on making funds or economic resources available. While their removal changes their treatment under relevant EU listings, executives examining commercial access must still review separate applicable restrictions and the policies of the institutions handling any proposed transaction.
