FT: Uzbekistan lobbies EU to lift sanctions on Alisher Usmanov

Uzbekistan is lobbying the EU to lift sanctions on Alisher Usmanov and his sister as the Uzbek-Russian billionaire struggles to disentangle himself from the fallout of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Usmanov was one of 26 Russians sanctioned by the EU in the immediate days following Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, with the bloc claiming he was one of the Russian president’s "favourite oligarchs", FT reports.

His sister Gulbakhor Ismailova was also sanctioned on the grounds that she was the legal owner(opens a new window) of some of Usmanov’s assets, such as his $600mn yacht "Dilbar".
Tashkent has used recent meetings between Uzbek and EU officials to raise concerns about the sanctions, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. The central Asian country is also providing legal assistance to Usmanov for a potential court challenge against Brussels if the bloc rejects the requests to have the restrictions lifted.

Usmanov, who was worth about $20bn before Putin’s invasion, has maintained his close connections with Uzbekistan, where he was born. Tashkent has argued that the sanctions against him, which include an asset freeze and travel ban, have restricted the billionaire’s ability to invest some of his fortune in the country.

The foreign ministry of Uzbekistan did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Usmanov said: "We cannot comment on the actions of the Uzbek government, but sanctions are indeed hampering investment and charity projects."

Usmanov, 69, started making his fortune while a senior director at Russian state gas company Gazprom in the 1990s, leveraging that role to build an industrial conglomerate involved in steel, copper, telecoms, technology and media.

Both Usmanov and Ismailova have lodged official appeals against the EU restrictions, alongside more than a dozen other Russian oligarchs.

The lobbying from Tashkent comes at a time when the EU is seeking to build closer ties with Uzbekistan and other central Asian countries as the region reassesses its relationship with Russia in light of the war in Ukraine.

But any move to lift sanctions against Usmanov and Ismailova, which would require unanimous approval by all 27 EU members, would potentially open up similar debates about dozens of other dual national Russian oligarchs subject to sanctions, multiple EU officials told the Financial Times.