Former Yandex Chief Tigran Khudaverdyan to Challenge EU Sanctions in Court

Former Yandex chief Tigran Khudaverdyan will challenge his designation under European sanctions in court. This was reported by RTVI television.

Khudaverdyan aims to prove that:

1. The reasons for including him in the sanctions list are insufficient and based on unreliable information.
2. Yandex is not a “key element” in hiding information about military operations in Ukraine from the Russians.
3. Yandex is not a significant source of income for the Government of the Russian Federation.

Reports indicate that the European Union imposed sanctions on Khudaverdyan because he attended a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, making him part of his circle and allegedly supporting his political agenda.

According to the reasons put forward by the EU, the Yandex.News service indeed conceals comprehensive and impartial information about the war from the Russians.

Khudaverdyan has spent his entire career at Yandex, overseeing the launch of Yandex.Browser and Yandex.Navigator. In 2019, he was named Businessman of the Year in Russia.

In March 2022, he came under personal sanctions from the EU (while he referred to the conflicts in Ukraine as “horrific”) and immediately resigned from leadership positions at the company. He has also been subjected to sanctions from the UK and Canada.