“Sanctions which on a Russian might be a minor inconvenience take on an entirely different complexion when placed on a British citizen,” Anderson told the court.
Shvidler is not said to have ties to Putin or Russia’s war machine. The U.K. government has defended its decision to designate Shvidler — whose net worth is estimated by Forbes magazine at $1.6 billion — based on his friendship with Abramovich and his position as director of steel business Evraz PLC.
Anderson argued that Shvidler’s friendship and business ties to Abramovich made the rationale for designating him marginal and was unlikely to send a tough message to the Kremlin. Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea Football Club in London, also ran companies in strategic sectors in the Russian economy and had appointed Shvidler to leading roles.
Shvidler has argued that the courts have taken the wrong approach to assessing whether his designation was a proportionate interference with his rights under Articles 8 and 1 of the European Conviction on Human Rights.
