Two daughters of a Russian oligarch once considered part of Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s inner circle have lost their court appeal to be removed from Canada\u2019s sanctions list, a punishment in response to Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Laura Fridman, about 32, and Katia Fridman, about 29, say they are unfairly caught in the crossfire of international outrage over Russia\u2019s invasion in 2022, a war, they told court, they do not support.<\/p>\n
The women are the eldest of four children of Mikhail Maratovich Fridman, 62, once ranked the second-richest man in Russia as founder and main shareholder of Russia\u2019s largest private bank and of a conglomerate that owned a chain of supermarkets, other retail outlets, a TV station, and huge industrial investments.<\/p>\n
In court in Canada, the sisters said their father\u2019s estimated net worth was $12.8 billion.<\/p>\n
Their father was placed on Canada\u2019s Russia sanctions list two months after Russia\u2019s invasion. Fridman was identified by Ottawa as \u201ca top Russian financier and associate of President Putin\u201d and deemed an enabler of Russia\u2019s war effort. Ottawa\u2019s sanctioning included him on a list of \u201coligarchs\u201d and \u201cclose associates of the regime.\u201d<\/p>\n
A month later, in May 2022, Laura and Katia Fridman were added to the list, as was their mother, Olga Ayziman. They were not added for their independent influence, power, or wealth, but for being family members of Mikhail Fridman.<\/p>\n
The three women appealed to the Canadian government to be taken off the sanctions list. Ayziman was removed, likely because she had separated from Fridman in 1999 and divorced in 2005.<\/p>\n
Ottawa refused to remove Fridman\u2019s daughters, however, and they challenged the refusals in Federal Court in 2023. They lost their cases, with the court finding Ottawa\u2019s decision \u201ctransparent, intelligible and justified and therefore reasonable.\u201d The sisters took their objections to the Federal Court of Appeal.<\/p>\n
At issue is being listed on Canada\u2019s Russia Regulations under the Special Economic Measures Act, a law that prohibits anyone inside Canada and Canadians outside Canada from engaging in economic activities with those named on the list.<\/p>\n
The sisters argued Ottawa should restrict its interpretation of a \u201cfamily member\u201d to relatives who retain \u201ca sufficient link\u201d with Russia or Putin, or \u201ccomplicity\u201d for Russia\u2019s actions. The sisters said they have no such link. They also argued there is nothing suggesting they have assisted or are willing to assist their father evade sanctions.<\/p>\n
The sisters had also declared opposition to Russia\u2019s invasion as part of their request for delisting \u2014 but with caution. After launching their legal challenges in Canada, they applied for a confidentiality order from the court to keep their opposition to the war secret. The court denied the requests.<\/p>\n
Federal Court of Appeal Judge Siobhan Monaghan, writing on behalf of a unanimous panel of three judges, did not agree with their appeal arguments.<\/p>\n
The law requires \u201conly that the Governor in Council be satisfied there are reasonable grounds to believe the person is a family member\u201d of someone also on the sanctions list, says the judgment released Friday. No caveats are needed. Under the broad powers of the act, Ottawa\u2019s decision to keep the sisters on the list is legally reasonable as they do not deny their familial relationship with Fridman, only declare independence from him.<\/p>\n
Monaghan said the government\u2019s reasons in the sisters\u2019 case was explained to them by Ottawa: It meets the aims of the sanctions program by preventing a listed person from using family to evade restrictions, making life difficult for those \u201csupporting or facilitating the Russian regime\u201d to encourage an end to hostilities, and to denounce \u201cRussia\u2019s breach of international security.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sisters\u2019 lawyer, Stephanie Desjardins, said they would not comment on the case or the family.<\/p>\n
Mikhail Fridman was born in Ukraine when it was under Soviet rule. He also has Israeli citizenship. Fridman has not knowingly challenged his sanctions listing in Canada and did not participate in his daughters\u2019 court challenges.<\/p>\n
He has, however, been fighting in court in Europe against sanctions placed on him by the European Union. A court ruling in Europe in 2024 found insufficient evidence he had provided material support to the Kremlin.<\/p>\n
Fridman stepped down from the board of the conglomerate he co-founded, called Alfa Group, and from other holding companies so the firms might avoid sanctions.<\/p>\n
In 2016, he had been ranked as Russia\u2019s second-richest man by Forbes, but by 2023, sanctions seemed to have taken a toll; he dropped to ninth place.<\/p>\n
His wealth has since been recovering, according to the Forbes list of the world\u2019s richest people. As of this month, the publication estimated his net worth at US$16.5 billion, up from US$11.8 billion in 2022, currently ranking him as the 171st richest person in the world.<\/p>\n
News reports quoted a letter Fridman sent soon after Russia\u2019s invasion to the staff of one of his international companies saying: \u201cI am convinced \u2026 that war can never be the answer. This crisis will cost lives and damage two nations.\u201d<\/p>\n
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