Ex-Everton director loses Russian sanctions challenge

Ex-Everton director loses Russian sanctions challenge12 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleLynette HorsburghNorth WestBBCMr Justice Pushpinder Saini found the Foreign Office was "uniquely well placed to assess whether sanctions decisions would achieve their intended purpose"A former Everton Football Club director has lost his High Court challenge against the Foreign Office's decision to continue sanctions against him due to his billionaire uncle's ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.Sarvar Ismailov and his brother Sanjar were sanctioned in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine due to them being nephews of Uzbek-Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov.Sarvar Ismailov asked ministers to review the decision in 2023 and while the wording of the designation under sanction laws was amended in 2024, he remained sanctioned.His lawyers told a hearing earlier this month it was "outrageously unfair" that he was being sanctioned "simply for being his uncle's nephew".The Foreign Office defended the claim, however, with its barristers telling the court in London that sanctioning people based on familial relations "serves several rational and legitimate purposes".Mr Justice Pushpinder Saini dismissed Ismailov's claim, finding the Foreign Office was "uniquely well-placed to assess whether sanctions decisions would achieve their intended purpose" and that the decision was not "irrational".The judge also accepted in his 46-page ruling that it was "reasonable to assume" that Ismailov could "exert pressure" on his uncle and the decision to continue sanctioning him was "plainly connected" with the objectives of the sanctions scheme, including showing there were "negative consequences" to associating with those with ties to Russia.He said: "The question is not whether the claimant's designation will of itself bring the conflict to an end.&quo...