The European Court of Justice has removed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Yanovych Azarov from the list of Ukrainians sanctioned by an EU asset freeze for the period of March 2015 - March 2016 for embezzlement of public funds, in a judgment delivered on Wednesday 19 December (Case C-530/17 P).
Mr Azarov had successfully challenged his inclusion on the European list of Ukrainian sanctioned for the period of 2014 - 2015 (see EUROPE 11478). This time he appealed to the Court to have the judgment of the EU General Court of July 2017, which upheld the asset freeze for the period of March 2015 - March 2016 (Case T-215/15), set aside.
The Court of Justice upheld Mr Azarov's appeal and annulled the judgment of the General Court in Case T-215/15. It said the Council had not sufficiently verified that Mr Azarov's rights of defence and right to effective judicial protection had been respected. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)