European Court of Justice refuses to lift sanctions on Belarusian company as it is linked to Lukashenko's regime

The Court of Justice of the European Union refused to lift sanctions against the Belarusian construction company Dana Astra, owned by Serbian businessmen Karic brothers; they unsuccessfully tried to prove that it does not maintain contact with the Belarusian authorities.

Source: Belarusian media outlet Zerkalo, referring to the decision of the EU Court of Justice, reports European Pravda

Details: Dana Astra is a division of the Belarusian company Dana Holdings, whose owners are considered close to the self-proclaimed president Alexander Lukashenko. In Minsk, the company, among other things, is engaged in the construction of the Minsk Mir residential complex.

After the events of 2020, Dana Holdings and its subsidiaries fell under EU and US sanctions, which provide for the freezing of accounts, a ban on cooperation with the company, and the provision of loans to it due to communication with Lukashenko (in particular, his daughter-in-law Lilia Lukashenko holds a high position in the company).

But Dana Astra decided that it was on the sanctions list unreasonably and filed a lawsuit with the EU Court of Justice, demanding that the decision be cancelled.

The owners argued that the company’s "economic success is not connected to that regime, but is the result of timely investments of capital, made into a fast-growing real estate market in Belarus, as a result of an innovative and profitable business model based on a market economy".

The EU court rejected these allegations.

Quote: "Given the business environment and economic reality in Belarus, operations of the scale that the applicant carried out... impossible without the approval of the Lukashenko regime," the court said, where Dana Astra was also ordered to pay legal costs incurred by the EU Council during the process.

Background: Earlier this month, the EU Court of Justice also rejected a lawsuit by businessman Alexander Shakutin, close to the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, who sought the lifting of sanctions imposed against him.

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