Tony Blair’s wife to represent Russian tycoon in $16bn case – Vedomosti

Cherie Blair, the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, is representing sanctioned Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman in his legal battle with Luxembourg over frozen assets, Vedomosti reports.

Blair is acting on the businessman’s behalf in a lawsuit over the state’s decision to freeze his assets in wake of EU sanctions against him, the Russian newspaper reported, citing legal documents.

The founder of Alfa Group, one of Russia’s largest privately owned investment consortiums, filed an international arbitration lawsuit against Luxembourg on Tuesday seeking almost €15 billion ($16 billion) in compensation. He claimed he had suffered permanent losses after Luxembourg implemented the EU’s “spurious and unfounded” sanctions against him.

According to the billionaire, the introduction of sanctions against him was solely due to his Russian citizenship and business success; he condemned the move as a “grave injustice” and a violation of international law.

In the lawsuit, Fridman reportedly argued that Luxembourg’s actions breached a 1989 treaty signed between the Soviet Union and Belgium which protects investors’ assets from expropriation, nationalization or “any other measures having similar effects.”

The 60-year-old was sanctioned by the UK, the EU, and Canada in 2022, and by the US in 2023. He successfully sued the EU over his inclusion in the sanctions list and was removed from it in April.

The billionaire businessman holds Russian and Israeli citizenship, and had lived in London before moving to Israel in early October. Fridman, who in 2003 was pictured with then-Prime Minister Tony Blair while signing a deal with energy giant BP, has described life in Britain under sanctions as “impossible,” claiming that British authorities have refused to allow him to pay for the upkeep of his London mansion and his staff’s wages.

The businessman arrived in Israel just a few days before the militant group Hamas launched its October 7 surprise attack on the country. Fridman subsequently fled to Moscow, telling Bloomberg that he planned to “return to Israel and live there permanently” once the situation has calmed down.