A Russian formula one driver, Nikita Mazepin, won a court case on Wednesday to revoke EU sanctions imposed on him in the wake of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The EU General Court in Luxembourg ruled that a family connection to his father, Russian businessman Dmitry Mazepin, is not sufficient to target the racing driver with sanctions.
A statement from the EU General Court said "the existence of a link going beyond a family relationship" like a common interest was necessary to target people associated with a sanctioned individual.
The court said the European Union did not provide enough evidence for such a link.
The EU listed Mazepin for sanctions in March 2022, freezing his assets in the bloc and banning him from entry to EU member states.
The EU renewed these sanctions three times every six months since their initial adoption but has now been instructed to remove Mazepin.
The racing driver, formerly with Haas F1, was targeted due to his fathers' companies sponsoring his racing team.
The racing driver's father, a Russian fertilizer magnate, is also subject to EU sanctions but has so far failed to have the punitive measures repealed.
Almost 2,000 individuals and organizations have been targeted with EU sanctions as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine with dozens of lawsuits appealing the punitive measures before the courts.
