Brussels Lets Two Oligarchs Go. London, Washington and Ottawa Have Not
The Council of the European Union has prolonged its Russia individual listings for three years, to September 2029, and paid for unanimity by not renewing three individuals and one entity. Two of them are Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman. Both remain designated by the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, and both were still on the EU's own consolidated file this morning. Nothing else moved on any monitored list. On 22 September 2026 the Council prolonged the asset freezes and travel bans under Regulation (EU) No 269/2014, the regime for actions undermining the territorial integrity of Ukraine, for 36 months to 22 September 2029. Until now the listings were renewed every six months, each time needing unanimity. The measures cover more than 3,000 individuals and entities. In the same decision the Council did not renew the listings of three individuals and one entity, and removed three deceased persons. Its announcement does not name any of them.
This issue
- New designations
- 0
- Removals
- 2
- Entries amended
- 0
- Sources monitored
- 85
A Three-Year Renewal, Bought With Four Delistings
On 22 September 2026 the Council prolonged the asset freezes and travel bans under Regulation (EU) No 269/2014, the regime for actions undermining the territorial integrity of Ukraine, for 36 months to 22 September 2029. Until now the listings were renewed every six months, each time needing unanimity. The measures cover more than 3,000 individuals and entities. In the same decision the Council did not renew the listings of three individuals and one entity, and removed three deceased persons. Its announcement does not name any of them.
Reporting of the decision consistently names two of the three individuals: Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov, born 9 September 1953 in Chust, and Mikhail Maratovich Fridman, born 21 April 1964 in Lviv, both first listed by the EU on 28 February 2022. The third individual, the entity and the three deceased persons are not identified in any source we could read, and we have not guessed at them. They should become identifiable once the legal act is published in the Official Journal. One more point matters for the file itself: the EU consolidated financial sanctions file regenerated on 22 September still carries both entries, at EU.7514.12 and EU.7516.10. The political decision has been taken; the list data has not yet caught up.
Party detail
Every row below was read against the issuing authority's own notice, not against a press report. Aliases are reproduced in full, including non Latin script forms, because the alias field is where a screening run usually fails. Identifiers are published sanctions data.
| Party | Action and instrument | Identifiers | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov | RemovalCouncil Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 and Decision 2014/145/CFSP (territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine) | Date of birth: 9 Sep 1953Place of birth: Chust, UzbekistanNationality: RussianIdentifier: passport 55 0314316Identifier: Russian national passport valid 6 Dec 2019 to 6 Dec 2029, as recorded on the EU entryAddress: No address is published on the EU entry | Listed by the EU on 28 February 2022 under the territorial integrity regime and recorded on the EU entry as a Russian leading businessperson. On 22 September 2026 the Council decided not to renew three individual listings and one entity listing when it prolonged the regime to 22 September 2029. The Council announcement does not name the parties; Usmanov is named as one of them in consistent reporting of the decision. At capture the EU consolidated file, dated 22 September 2026, still carries the entry. He remains designated by the UK (RUS0266), by OFAC under Executive Order 14024 and by Canada. Retire the EU record only when the EU list removes it, and retire nothing else |
| Mikhail Maratovich Fridman | RemovalCouncil Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 and Decision 2014/145/CFSP (territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine) | Date of birth: 21 Apr 1964Place of birth: Lviv, UkraineNationality: Russian; Israeli (as recorded by OFAC)Identifier: No identity document is published on the EU entryAddress: No address is published on the EU entry | Listed by the EU on 28 February 2022 under the territorial integrity regime. The EU entry records him as one of the main shareholders of ABH Holdings, which controlled the major Russian bank Alfa Bank and still controls other Alfa Group companies. On 22 September 2026 the Council decided not to renew three individual listings and one entity listing when it prolonged the regime to 22 September 2029. The Council announcement does not name the parties; Fridman is named as one of them in consistent reporting of the decision. At capture the EU consolidated file, dated 22 September 2026, still carries the entry. He remains designated by the UK (RUS0664), by OFAC under Executive Order 14024 and by Canada. Retire the EU record only when the EU list removes it, and retire nothing else |
What this means for your organisation
- 01
Hold both men, and release nothing yet: Usmanov and Fridman remain designated by the UK (RUS0266, RUS0664), by OFAC under Executive Order 14024 and by Canada. The EU consolidated file still carries both. Any match stays frozen until your own governing authorities say otherwise, and for any firm with a UK, US or dollar nexus that means it stays frozen.
- 02
Retire the EU layer only when the EU file drops it: Watch EU.7514.12 and EU.7516.10 in the EU consolidated file. When they disappear, retire the EU record only, and record two dates: the Council decision of 22 September and the date the list data changed. An examiner will ask for both.
- 03
Queue the five unnamed EU records: One further individual, one entity and three deceased persons came off the EU regime in the same decision. They are not yet named in anything we could read. Reconcile your EU file against the next consolidated file on identifiers, not on counts, so they are caught when they drop.
- 04
Update the EU renewal date in your data: Listings under Regulation 269/2014 now run to 22 September 2029, not to the six-monthly March and September dates. Any expiry or review logic keyed to the old cycle should be moved, or it will generate false lapses.
Where this issue came from
The map plots the sources Youverify monitors. The pulsing markers are the one authorities cited in this issue: the Council of the European Union. Hover any marker to name the sources read there.
Method statement
Parties are taken from the issuing authorities' list data and notices as recorded in the Youverify Sanctions Monitor of 23 September 2026, one row per party. Website copy for this archive edition is compiled from that day's published briefing.
Corrections
No corrections issued for this issue. Corrections are published on the issue they affect, dated, with the original text retained.Cite this issue
Vyra from Youverify. "Brussels Lets Two Oligarchs Go. London, Washington and Ottawa Have Not." Youverify Sanctions Monitor, issue 131, 23 September 2026. https://youverify.co/en/sanctions/2026-09-23. Accessed 23 September 2026.