Oligarch Deal: How France Got Usmanov Off the EU Sanctions List

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Oligarch Deal: How France Got Usmanov Off the EU Sanctions List.

France has freed Russian billionaire Usmanov from EU sanctions — and, according to diplomats, brokered a deal that puts European Russia policy to the test. Handelsblatt reports this, citing diplomatic circles.

According to Handelsblatt, Usmanov had previously been on the EU sanctions list. The delisting is reportedly not the result of an individual economic review — but rather part of a larger exchange deal in which Azerbaijan pardoned an imprisoned French citizen in return.

What is Handelsblatt reporting about the deal?

According to Handelsblatt, diplomats speak of a "prisoner deal." France positioned itself as a mediator between Brussels and Baku. In return for releasing Usmanov, Azerbaijan pardoned the imprisoned French citizen. The pattern recalls classic hostage diplomacy — with the key difference that here it is not an ordinary citizen being freed, but an oligarch being released from the European sanctions regime.

France has freed Russian billionaire Usmanov from EU sanctions. Diplomats are reporting a prisoner deal. Now Azerbaijan is pardoning an imprisoned French citizen.

What role is Azerbaijan playing?

That Baku of all places is serving as the hub for such a deal raises questions. Azerbaijan traditionally maintains close ties with Russia, but has also been expanding its economic and political contacts with France and the EU for years. If a single EU member state can influence a sanctions decision in the Council through bilateral channels, that reveals a fundamental weakness in the European sanctions regime — and a lever that other countries could also use.

What does this mean for the credibility of EU sanctions?

Sanctions against Russian oligarchs have been among the most important instruments of Europe's response to the Ukraine war. With the removal of such a prominent figure as Usmanov, a signal is being sent — to Moscow as well as to other sanctioned individuals: the EU list is not unassailable, and those who have the right mediator can work toward its loosening. Should the Usmanov model set a precedent, the next sanctions decisions will be under heightened scrutiny — in Brussels, in the capitals of the member states, and in Moscow.