summary judgmentThe Russian oligarch Arkady Volozh lost the summary proceedings on Wednesday in which he demanded eviction of his building at the Vondelpark that was taken over by squatters. This is due to the fact that Volozh is on the sanctions list of the European Union.
Until recently, Volozh was CEO of the Russian search engine Yandex and has close ties to President Putin. In summary proceedings he demanded the departure of squatters from Vossiusstraat 16, where a large-scale renovation has been going on since 2020. Such a renovation is a legitimate reason to leave a building empty and in such cases squatting is usually unlawful. In this case it is different, the judge ruled.
That is because the property of people on the European sanctions list is not allowed to increase in value. The renovation could lead to this, because the building will be expanded from two to three apartments. This seems to indicate that Volozh wants to rent them out, which is prohibited under the sanctions regime. The renovation could only continue if the Ministry of Finance had issued an exemption. “However, this has not been proven,” the statement said.
With family to Amsterdam
The judge attaches little credence to Volozj’s claim that he wants to come and live in Amsterdam with his family. To this end, the judge argues, among other things, that he currently resides outside the European Union and is no longer the general manager of Yandex (which has its official headquarters in Amsterdam). Moreover, he cannot travel to Amsterdam because of the sanctions, because there is an entry ban for people on the EU sanctions list.
The court also rejects the claim that the property suffered damage as a result of the squatting action. ‘Adjustments have been made to make the situation safe, but the squatters have acted on the advice of a structural engineer,’ according to the ruling. That doesn’t seem like a piece of cake, as Volozh has put it.
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