Russian billionaire Abramovich denies benefiting from Ukraine war

 Roman Abramovich denied benefiting from the war in Ukraine  after a European Union court on Wednesday upheld sanctions imposed on the Russian billionaire.

In its ruling on a legal challenge to the sanctions, the EU’s General Court said Abramovich was the majority shareholder in Evraz, a major steel and mining group that provides a “substantial source of revenue” to the Russian government.

Abramovich “does not have the ability to influence the decision making of any government, including Russia, and has in no way benefitted from the war,” his representatives said in a statement provided to Reuters, in response to the ruling.

“Although we are disappointed with today’s ruling, we welcome that the court did not take up several arguments presented by the EU Council and did not include them as a basis for maintaining sanctions,” the statement also said.