It has been reported today that the Gardaí have referred a case for criminal prosecution to the Director of Public Prosecutions for alleged breaches of the EU’s Russian sanctions.
No further details on the case were reported.
Malta – company and director acquitted of breach of Russian sanctions
It has been reported today that a prosecution in Malta for allegedly breaching the EU’s sanctions against Russia has ended in acquittal.
The investigation commenced in 2019 after a bank submitted a suspicious activity report.
The transaction at the heart of the case was the export of 142 pallets of ammunition from Russia to Morocco via a Maltese company; Donna Shipping Company Limited.
The company and one of its directors, Karl David Mallia, a qualified accountant were both prosecuted, but not any of the other directors of the company.
The court held that there was insufficient evidence that Mallia had been involved in the particular transaction.
Spain – two arrested for alleged military exports to Russia
It has been reported today that the Spanish authorities have arrested two individuals, a Russian national and a Ukrainian national, on suspicion of exporting military goods to Russia in breach of EU sanctions.
The investigation was started in 2021 nad has involved a number of raids. The goods in question were exported through third countries but destined for the Russian aeronautical sector.
Netherlands – fine imposed by regulator (largely) upheld
An unnamed financial services provider had appealed three fines imposed on it by the Dutch National Bank in relation to inadequate AML and sanctions screening in relation to transactions to do with Somalia, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
The fines were €8,000, €5,000 and €10,000 for the three identified breaches.
The fine of €8,000 was reduced on appeal to €7,600 on the basis of delay by the regulator, but the others were upheld.
Romania – fines and confiscation order overturned
It has been reported today that the Romanian company Deltrans Grup&Ro SR successfully appealed against a fine and confiscation order imposed by the Romanian ANAF.
The alleged wrongdoing related to two orders from a Moldovan company filled by products from plywood producer Sveza. The ANAF alleged that Sveza was owned and controlled by a designated person, Alexei Mordashov.
The court ruled that this link was asserted rather than proven by the ANAF and annulled the fine and confiscation.
It has been reported that the ANAF is appealing this decision.
Germany – company fined €1.3m for export of machinery to Russia
It has been reported today that a German company from Schleswig-Holstein has been convicted of breaching the EU’s sanctions against Russia for the illegal export of machinery that was used to help build the Kerch bridge.
The equipment was a hydraulic hammer used for driving in the piles for the bridge. The fine was imposed by the District Court in Kiel.
Switzerland – nearly 100 criminal investigations for sanctions breaches
The Swiss authorities have this week provided some statistics on their ongoing sanctions enforcement efforts.
They have reported a total of 100 investigations. Of those:
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- 13 investigations have been concluded without charge;
- 23 have had criminal proceedings commenced; and
- 60 cases remain under investigation.
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While most of these relate to Russia, at least two relate to Belarus sanctions.
The majority of the investigations are said to relate to trade sanctions rather than financial sanctions.
Poland – FIU has seven to nine ongoing investigations
It has been reported that the Polish authorities are currently investigating between 7 to 9 companies for potential breaches of the EU’s Russian sanctions.
The source for the information is a representative of Poland’s FIU reported in a report on Polish sanctions by the Royal United Services Institute.
Netherlands – 45 ongoing Russian sanctions investigations
The Dutch authorities today announced that they have 45 ongoing criminal investigations into Russian sanctions breaches.
Of these 29 involve violations of import and export sanctions and 16 relate to breaches of financial sanctions.
UK – extradition request for man withdrawn by US
Further to our earlier post, the US authorities have now withdrawn the extradition request for Graham Bonham-Carter.
He had been arrested as part of an extradition request in October 2022, but that request has now been withdrawn.