Appellants”) by freezing their assets in the European Union (the “
EU”) as they were
“subject to judicial proceedings by Egyptian authorities in respect of the misappropriation of the State Funds on the basis of the United Nations Convention against corruption”.
3 The sanctions had been renewed periodically since their imposition.
The Appellants lodged two separate applications to the General Court in 2016 and 2017
4 (which were ultimately joined before the CJEU), seeking the annulment of the Council’s decision to impose sanctions. In 2018, the General Court dismissed the applications, holding (as argued by the General Council for the EU before the Court) that the Council did not need to verify whether the investigations or procedures concerning the Appellants in Egypt were well founded, and that it was for the Appellants to put forward the evidence demonstrating that their situation was affected by the alleged problems in the Egyptian judicial system.