GROUP DF calls sanctions against Dmytro Firtash and Group companies illegal and politically motivated

GROUP DF considers sanctions against the owner of the Group and its companies illegal and politically motivated. At the same time, they emphasize that for the fourth year the Group has been under systemic pressure outside of judicial and legal procedures, which blocks the normal operation of businesses.

This is announced in a statement distributed by the Group.

"The main purpose of the sanctions is to cancel the Group's special permits for the use of subsoil and the seizure of assets without any court decisions. The Government's public statements about the need to "return licenses to the state" and further "transfer to new investors" actually confirm this goal. We insist that this is an illegal administrative alienation of assets under the cover of sanctions. This creates a dangerous precedent, in which ownership becomes a conditional concept, and any licenses and assets in strategic sectors that are the object of interest can be seized by political decision - without a court and without compensation," the statement said.

Group DF emphasized that the group's businesses are operating enterprises that provide stable tax revenues to budgets of all levels, fulfill social obligations, obligations to counterparties, and invest in development. In particular, about USD 160 million in investments were invested in the Motronivskyi GOK alone, and the processing plant was 60% built. As a result of the sanctions, the construction of the plant was suspended, and the work of the enterprise was blocked. The new sanctions affect not only the Group's businesses, but also, first of all, more than 9,500 employees of the Group, regions of presence, as well as the entire economy of the country.

"We consider such an approach to be a direct violation of the principles of the rule of law and protection of property rights. Sanctions cannot and should not be used as a tool for raiding assets and putting pressure on business. Such a practice undermines trust in state institutions and directly harms the reputation of Ukraine," the Group said, emphasizing its intentions to consistently defend the rights of Group DF and its companies in all national and international jurisdictions, including mechanisms for protecting investments and property rights.

"We are already challenging in court the sanctions against Dmytro Firtash imposed in 2021 and 2024. Case No. 9901/332/21 "On the recognition of illegality and cancellation of the Decree of the President of Ukraine dated 06/24/2021 No. 266/2021" and No. 990/245/24 "On the recognition of illegality and cancellation of the Decree of the President of Ukraine dated 06/24/2022 No. 3". Also, since 2021, the Supreme Court has been considering case No. 9901/318/21 "On the recognition of illegality and cancellation of the Decree of the President of Ukraine dated 06/24/2021 No. 266/2021" regarding the Group's Company - "Valky - Ilmenit", in which the Group's special permit for the use of subsoil and assets were seized without any court decisions," Group DF lawyer Roman Chyshynskyi said.

According to him, in 2026 the state repeated this illegal practice and deprived the Group of a number of licenses. "Unfortunately, we see that court proceedings are systematically transferred to a closed regime and are inaccessible to the press, postponed and in every possible way delayed by the initiators of sanctions. None of the cases, starting from 2021, have been considered so far. "To date, at the court hearings, the defendant has not presented any facts or evidence of violations of the law by the Group's shareholder or the Group's businesses, which could serve as a basis for imposing sanctions," the lawyer added.

In fact, Dmytro Firtash is the only citizen of Ukraine against whom sanctions have been imposed three times in a row, despite the fact that Ukrainian legislation does not allow imposing sanctions against its own citizens, Group DF is confident.

At the same time, the statement emphasizes that the British sanctions, which the Ukrainian authorities publicly refer to, are not independent and are not based on any new investigations or evidence from the UK. They were introduced in continuation of Ukrainian sanctions, as well as charges brought by the United States.

In turn, the US charges have not received legal confirmation. The extradition of Dmytro Firtash to the US was blocked by an Austrian court, which directly indicates the lack of sufficient legal grounds for criminal prosecution.