Denmark – raids, arrests and individuals and company charged in Russian sanctions prosecution

After press reporting had published allegations that the Danish paint company Flügger may have been continuing to trade with Russian customers via third countries in breach of EU sanctions, on 26 June the National Unit for Special Crime (NSK) conducted raids on the business premises of Flügger, and the homes of the company’s CEO and CFO.

The CEO and CFO were arrested as part of the raids, and have both been charged with sanctions offences as has the company itself.

The company has issued a press release confirming the investigation and stating that it has been deceived by distributors in Kazakhstan, Estonia, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan.

Estonia – lengthy custodial sentence for sanctions offences

Estonia’s Office of the Prosecutor has issued a press release regarding an agreed settlement with Pavel Kapustin convicting him of sanctions offences as well as espionage and supplying false information.

The man was sentenced to 6.5 years’ jail and assets valued at €90,000 were confiscated. The press release does not break down the sentence by offence.

The man took orders for luxury goods from Russian customers and arranged for their transport to Russia in breach of the EU’s sanctions.

This is the sixth custodial sentence handed down in Estonia for sanctions offences so far this year.

Germany – 5 year sentence for and confiscation of c. €5m for sanctioned cars exports to Russia

As first reported in Global Sanctions, and as per a press release by German Customs, the Marburg Regional Court on 8 July has sentenced an individual to 5 years in jail for exporting luxury cars to Russian breach of the EU’s sanctions.

The man was convicted of 71 separate counts.

The court also confiscated approximately €5m as the gross proceeds of the cars sales.

Greece – investigation into alleged imports of sanctioned Russian birch

The NGO Earthsight has published an article on its website stating that in January this year it tipped off the Greek authorities to a shipment of allegedly sanctioned Russian birch plywood coming from the company Tianma Lvjian known to “launder” Russian birch plywood.

Earthsight adds that it has now “learned that Customs authorities in Greece have detained it and several other shipments from the same supplier. Investigations are ongoing.”

While Russian birch plywood has been the subject of numerous enforcement actions, this is are rare example of a sanctions investigation in Greece reaching the public domain.

Netherlands – two sanctions judgments: i) individual given 3 years prison sentence; and ii) confiscation of €1m in unlawful profits

The Dutch courts have published two sanctions judgments.

In the first case, the District court of Rotterdam has sentenced an individual to three years in jail.

The individual was convicted for providing technical assistance to a person in Russia or for use in Russia of different computer files containing information on the manufacture of microchips. The files were shares by Google Drive and Telegram between January 2023 and August 2024.

The defendant was acquitted of charges of physically taking similar files to Russia on USB sticks.

On sentencing the judgment stated:

Providing advice to and sharing technology with Russia is extremely serious. It can contribute to strengthening military or strategic capabilities of that country, which has an impact on Ukraine and can indirectly affect international security and stability. It is therefore a serious offence. … The nature and seriousness of the facts justify a prison sentence of considerable duration. The fact that the files would contain outdated information is irrelevant because this information can be of great value to a country with a (much) lower level of knowledge. It must be prevented that a country at war can benefit in any way from advanced technological knowledge. After all, for that reason, an extensive package of sanctions has also been agreed against Russia, among others“.

In the second case, the District Court of Amsterdam has issued an order confiscating €1,013,956.00.

The unnamed corporate defendant had been provided goods and services in relation to the construction of the Kirch Bridge, and had been convicted on 28 November 2024 (our previous post here), with a fine of €120,000 imposed.

The court calculated that the gross revenue obtained in breach of sanctions was €2,711,085, but allowed certain costs including internal time incurred and the cost of insurance resulting in a final confiscation of €1,013,956.

The effect of this is that revenue of nearly €1.7m obtained in breach of the EU’s sanctions was retained by the convicted company.

Germany – sanctions raids conducted into suspected luxury imports from Russia

Hamburg’s Customs Investigations Office has announced raids on residential and commercial properties in the Berlin area as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected imports of luxury goods from Russia in breach of the EU’s sanctions.

In particular it is alleged that the business was importing substitute caviar from Russia which would amount, if proven, to a breach of import prohibitions under the Russian sanctions.

Other offences including customs evasion are being investigated.

Finland – investigation commenced into Helsinki logistics company for sanctioned exports to Russia

Finland’s Customs has issued a press release announcing the an investigation into a company in the Helsinki region that is suspected or arranging exports of goods to Russia via third countries including Lithuania, Bulgaria, Poland, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

The exports are suspected of ranging from 2022 to 2025, and to have included direct sales by the company.

The goods involved are ball bearings and industrial motors with an estimated value of €300,000.

The investigation appears to have been started with the interception of a consignment of prohibited dual-use goods which was being directly exported from Finland to Russia.

Malta – fines and prosecutions for sanctions violations

As previously posted Malta’s Sanctions Monitoring Board maintains a page or listing companies that have been subjected to a fine of greater than €800 for sanctions breaches.

The page has now been updated to include the fact of a fine against:

  • Felicitas Trust Limited based on a “supervisory examination conducted between April and May 2023”; and
  • Winzon Group Ltd based on a “supervisory examination conducted between February and March 2024”.

No other information is provided, including which sanctions regime was involved.

Separately, the SMB has issued an update on Malta’s implementation of the EU’s Russian sanctions. This notes the completion of 211 inspections, and notes that some of its investigations “are cases advancing through judicial channels”.

No further information is provided on these, presumed, prosecutions.

    United Kingdom – £1.1m penalty for exports to Russia

    HM Revenue and Customs has issued a Notice to Exporters reporting on the imposition of a civil compound penalty against an unnamed company for making “goods available to Russia in breach of” the UK’s Russian sanctions.

    The penalty is stated to be £1,160,725.67.

    No other information has been published on the identity of the offender, the nature of the offending or the goods that were exported, whether there was a self-report, or the nature of the cooperation that secured a civil penalty.

    © 2009-2025 Duane Morris LLP. Duane Morris is a registered service mark of Duane Morris LLP.

    The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author and are not to be construed as legal advice.

    Proudly powered by WordPress