A court in Finland has rejected a discrimination lawsuit filed by Russian businessman Boris Rotenberg against Nordic banks which refused to do business with the U.S. sanctioned oligarch, Bloomberg Law reports.
Rotenberg, sanctioned by Washington over the Ukraine conflict due to his close ties with President Vladimir Putin, on Monday lost a lawsuit he filed in a Finnish court against four Nordic banks.
“Helsinki District Court has rejected Boris Rotenberg’s complaint over the right to banking services and damages for discrimination,” the court said in a statement.
Rotenberg, who also holds Finnish citizenship, accused Nordea, Danske Bank, Handelsbanken and OP Bank of refusing to allow him to make payments and of violating his right to equal treatment as an EU citizen.
The court said Rotenberg had failed to prove he was a person living in the European Economic Area and therefore he was not entitled to basic banking services in Finland.
It also ruled the banks’ concerns of significant financial risks related to Rotenberg’s transactions were not unfounded.
The court ordered Rotenberg to pay the banks’ legal expenses, amounting to around 530,000 euros ($589,360).
Contacted by Reuters via his lawyer, Rotenberg was not immediately available for comment. The decision can be appealed.
