It has been reported today that the Latvian authorities have conducted court-ordered raids on premises in Riga and elsewhere as part of the ongoing criminal investigation of seven individuals suspected of breaching the EU’s Russian sanctions.
UK: HMRC fines 19 companies for export controls violations
Today the UK government announced compound penalties of £700,386.01 imposed for breaches of the UK’s export controls.
The announcement from the Export Control Joint Unit provides little detail, but there were 19 settlements in all with the individual penalties ranging from £1,000 to £211,250.
The exports were of dual-use goods and military goods.
This announcement is in line with the HMRC’s policy of entering into civil settlements using its compounding powers, and with anonymised publication of the details.
Denmark – charges for breach of Syrian sanctions
Denmark’s financial crimes unit on Wednesday announced charges against a Danish company suspected of violating EU sanctions on Syria by delivering large quantities of fuel to Russian warplanes there.
The 33 transactions, involving 172,000 tonnes of kerosene, carried out between 2015 and 2017, amounted to 647 million kroner (87 million euros, $102 million), according to the Danish State Prosecutor.
Danish media has reported the company as Dan-Bunkering. A holding company and the director of one of the companies involved are also being prosecuted.
Germany – charges for dual-use exports to Russia
Further to our earlier post, the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office has issued a press release confirming that charges have now been laid against two individuals – Alexander S. and Alexander O.
The allegations relate to the export of machine tool to a Russian state-owned arms company valued at €8 million between January 2016 and January 2018.
The customer is also said to be a designated person under EU regulation 269/2014.
UK: FCA imposes fine including sanctions compliance
Today, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority imposed a fine of £38,805,400 on Commerzbank.
The Penalty Notice can be found here.
The penalty reflected a 30% reduction from £54,007,800 to reflect cooperation by the bank.
The fine related to failings identified by the FCA in AML and sanctions screening and compliance.
Malta – five charged with breaching Libyan sanctions
It has been reported today that the Maltese authorities have charged five individuals with breaching the EU sanctions against Libya.
Only one individual was named – James Fenech.
The case relates to the use of military-grade inflatable vessels allegedly used to move military personnel into, and out of, Libya.
The court has also ordered that the accounts of the companies involved be frozen.
UK – OFSI Annual Report: enforcement statistics
OFSI has published its Annual Report for 2019-2020.
In its OFSI notes that it received 1490 reports of suspected sanctions breaches with a total value of £982.34 million.
OFSI also noted that breaches of Libyan sanctions were more prevalent than others.
Dutch seizure of goods destined for North Korea
It was reported today that the Dutch port authorities in Rotterdam have seized 90,000 bottles of vodka allegedly destined for North Korea. The vessel was first to sail to China.
Such an export would be a breach of the EU’s sanctions against North Korea. The Dutch authorities have not commented on the source of the intelligence used to identify the alleged destination of the goods.
UK: OFSI imposes £20.4m civil penalty
Today the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation imposed a civil penalty of £20,471,809.83 on Standard Chartered Bank in the latest (and largest) use of its civil enforcement powers. The fine included a 30% reduction to take account of self-reporting and cooperation.
OFSI’s Penalty Report can be found here.
The breaches of the EU’s Russian sanctions regulation 833/2014 arose out of the provision of multiple loans to the non-EU subsidiary of a Russian bank in breach of the restrictions on certain Russian banks accessing the EU’s capital markets. In total 21 loans valued at over £97m were issued during the period after OFSI acquired its civil enforcement powers.
Initially OFSI’s fines were £31.5m, but the fines were reduced after Standard Chartered exercised its right to a ministerial review of the penalties.
Germany arrests man for Russian sanctions violation
It has been reported today that customs officials in the Bavarian city of Augsburg have today arrested Alexander S. on suspicion of exporting machinery to Russia in breach of the EU’s trade sanctions.
Premises have been raided in Bavaria, Saxony and Berlin.
The exports are alleged to have valued over €8m and to have taken place between 2016 and 2018 to military end users.
The allegations include the provision of false information to try and optain export permits.