Prigozhin intends to challenge UK sanctions
MOSCOW. Jan 15 (Interfax) - The sanctions imposed by British authorities on Yevgeny Prigozhin are baseless and will be challenged, the press service of the Russian businessman's Concord group said on Friday.
"On January 1, 2021 the United Kingdom transitioned to a sanctions policy independent of the European Union and approved its own sanctions list on Libya. The list included Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin," the press service said.
"The imposition was unlawful and baseless because the plaintiff does not have information on the existence of an organization referred to as the Wagner Group, nor has financial or other links and relations with it.
"In view of the above, the legal team of Yevgeny Viktorovich intends to challenge the decision to impose sanctions and to prove the absence of grounds for their imposition in due fashion, to which end it will soon file the relevant claim with judicial authorities in the UK," the press service said.
The sanctions were imposed in October on the grounds of Prigozhin's supposed involvement in arms supplies to Libya.
In September a UN committee of experts overseeing compliance with sanctions accused eleven companies, including Wagner private military company, of violating the Libya arms embargo. In May, the company provided between 800 and 1,200 mercenaries to help Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar, the committee said.
The other ten - airlines registered in Kazakhstan, Syria, Ukraine, Tajikistan, and two based in the United Arab Emirates - were accused of providing material and technical support for the LNA.