The President of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on 29 October that Swiss-based EuroChem Group, one of the world’s largest fertiliser producers, is not subject to EU sanctions imposed on its founder, the Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko.
The order clarifies that the funds and economic resources of the Firstline Trust held by Linetrust PTC – EuroChem’s ultimate owner – are not frozen under the EU’s Russia sanctions. On that basis, the court dismissed Linetrust’s bid to intervene in litigation over Mr Melnichenko’s designation.
Andrey Melnichenko, who made his fortune in coal and chemicals, was sanctioned by the EU in March 2022 following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Although he stepped down as beneficiary of the EuroChem trust before the designation, the move failed to prevent several member states and counterparties from treating the company as owned or controlled by him.
The resulting uncertainty wreaked havoc on EuroChem’s operations across Europe, leading to multimillion-euro losses. In Belgium, the company’s Antwerpen plant was shut down in March 2022. Electricity was cut, raw material deliveries from chemical giant BASF were halted, and nearly 400 employees were left idle. It took several months for Belgian authorities to confirm that the company was not subject to EU sanctions, allowing operations to resume.
A similar disruption occurred in Lithuania, where EuroChem’s Lifosa facility had its bank accounts frozen and faced multiple shutdowns. The Lithuanian government lifted restrictions in June 2024, following the conclusion of its own legal review.
EuroChem’s structures in France also experienced several operational disruptions.
In July 2025, a UK court barred ING and Société Générale from making payments to EuroChem, citing potential breaches of EU sanctions law. The company described the ruling as further evidence of a “fractured compliance landscape” across jurisdictions.
The CJEU’s latest order builds on earlier guidance from the EU General Court, which found that a mere reference to a company in the context of an individual’s designation does not automatically make it subject to sanctions. That court also reaffirmed that EuroChem itself has not been sanctioned by the EU.
The order is likely to prompt a broader reassessment by national authorities across the bloc and beyond, of how they read and apply Council Regulation No. 269/2014, the backbone of the Union’s asset-freeze regime tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
EuroChem Group is the world’s fourth-largest fertiliser producer, with key assets in Russia, the EU, Brazil and Kazakhstan. The company is a major player in nitrogen-, phosphate-, and potash-based fertilisers, supplying customers in more than 100 countries.
