Luxembourg joined a majority of EU countries who wanted to keep Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman on a sanctions list, Prime Minister Luc Frieden has said, after claims his government supported a push by Hungary to have him removed. Hungary had reportedly threatened to block the EU from extending sanctions against around 2,000 Russian nationals if the names of Fridman and several other individuals were not withdrawn from the list, which imposes travel restrictions and asset freezes on politicians and businesspeople deemed to have supported or facilitated Russia’s war on Ukraine.The list was due to expire on 15 March unless all EU 27 member countries agreed to roll the names over for another six months.“Hungary proposed four names [to be removed from the list], but the other countries agreed only on three names,” Frieden told public broadcaster 100,7 on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels this week. “We sided with the majority. If the majority had agreed to also take off the fourth name, Luxembourg would have joined.”Fridman’s name remained on the sanctions list.Also read:Unprecedented €15 billion battle against Luxembourg could open Pandora’s boxArbitration lawsuitIn August last year, the Russian billionaire launched a €15 billion lawsuit against Luxembourg related to when he was initially sanctioned by the EU. Fridman is seeking compensation for his assets being frozen, citing a 1989 treaty between the Grand Duchy and the Soviet Union that protects investor assets from expropriation, nationalisation or similar measures.Fridman has proposed that the international arbitration case be held in Hong Kong. The European Commission has said it is “ready to assist” Luxembourg in fighting off the lawsuit.The oligarch has previously challenged the sanctions through the EU’s courts. In April 2024, the EU’s general court annulled the restrictive measures, saying that they were not justified. But the billionaire remained on the EU’s sanctions list because the decision of the court only applied to the period between February 2022 and mid-March 2023.In 2013, Fridman founded the investment management company LetterOne in Luxembourg together with other Russian businessmen, including his long-standing partner Pyotr Aven. Both men and other Russians heading LetterOne resigned as directors of the investment company - which was not hit by sanctions - within days of the Russian assault on Ukraine, and relinquished all positions with the firm in March 2022.Also read:Who is Mikhail Fridman, the man suing Luxembourg for €15bn?