In a ruling on March 20, the Supreme Court of the 27-nation EU said that former Russian Formula One driver Nikita Mazepin should be removed from the bloc’s “blacklist,” arguing that Nikita should not be sanctioned simply because he is the son of Russian chemicals tycoon Dmitry Mazepin.

“The link between Mr Nikita Mazepin and his father cannot be established from an economic or pecuniary point of view,” the Luxembourg-based court said in its ruling, adding that family ties were simply not sufficient grounds for imposing sanctions.

Shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Nikita was removed from the US-based Haas F1 racing team.

The 1999-born boy was accepted into Haas partly because at that time, the team's main sponsor was the Russian fertilizer giant Uralkali, a subsidiary of the chemical giant Uralchem ​​owned by tycoon Dmitry Mazepin, Nikita's father.

Haas also “cut off” relations with Uralkali as soon as the war broke out, and was asked by the Mazepin family to return more than $100 million in sponsorship money. Mr. Dmitry Mazepin then announced the sale of his 52% stake in Uralchem.

At that time, it was also reported that the main factor contributing to the Mazepin family being sanctioned by the EU was that “tycoon” Dmitry Mazepin was among the businessmen who met with Russian President Putin in the Kremlin on February 24, 2022.

In addition, the Mazepin family has faced sanctions from the United Kingdom and Canada. The sanctions have caused the Mazepin family to lose many assets, suffer financial losses and face travel restrictions. For example, in April 2022, the Italian authorities seized assets worth 105 million euros from Dmitry Mazepin.

In an attempt to reverse the situation, Nikita and his father filed an appeal to the European Court of Justice (CJEU), but the case of “tycoon” Dmitry Mazepin was dismissed in November last year.

The Mazepin family is also appealing to have them removed from the UK and Canadian sanctions lists .

Minh Duc (According to EU Observer, Euronews, F1 Briefing)