AFP, Published on Wednesday, June 01, 2022 at 12:39 pm.

According to a decision published on Wednesday, European justice has confirmed sanctions set in 2020 against Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozin, who is believed to be close to President Vladimir Putin, for destabilizing Libya with a group of mercenaries. for their participation in it.

The 61-year-old businessman, who has been accused by the European Union of financially supporting the activities of private military group Wagner in the country, asked an EU court to overturn the decision. In his appeal, he specifically called for “violation of liability for the State’s reasons for these decisions, inadmissibility of the evidence presented, misappropriation of facts, abuse of power and violation of their fundamental rights”.

The court rejected all these arguments and specified that “the evidence file contains concrete, accurate and concurrent elements that establish the close and multiple relationship that Mr Prigozhin maintains with the Wagner Group”.

Mr Prigogine was banned from entering the European Union and his funds frozen on charges of endangering peace, stability or security in Libya. The decision, adopted in October 2020, was extended by member states in July 2021.

Yevgeny Prigozhin has also been sanctioned by the European Union for his role in the conflict in Ukraine. He is considered the founder of the Concorde Group “responsible for the deployment of Wagner Group mercenaries in Ukraine and for benefiting from significant public contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry following the illegal annexation of Crimea and the annexation of Moscow-backed Eastern Ukraine. Separatists, according to the EU blacklist.

His mother and his wife were also included in this list in February 2022. The businessman has also been approved by the United States and the United Kingdom.

The Kremlin denies any connection with the Wagner group.