2020 – European Sanctions Enforcement

December 27, 2023January 11, 2024 by Mark Handley

Romania – company fined and €2.9 million profits confiscated

An Advocate-General’s opinion in Case C-351/22 before the Court of Justice has revealed details of a not-previously publicised enforcement action from 2020 in Romania, by which the company Neves 77 Solutions SRL was administratively fined approximately €6,000 and had gross profits of €2.9 million confiscated.

The company had brokered a transaction whereby radio sets manufactured in Russia were sold by a Ukrainian company to an Indian company.

The question which came to be addressed by the Advocate-General was whether the confiscation of gross profits was compatible with fundamental principles of European law including whether it was a proportionate abrogation of the right to property. The Advocate-General’s opinion is that such confiscations are not a breach of European law.

March 30, 2022January 11, 2024 by Mark Handley

Austria – 4 convictions for exporting military goods

Included in the annual criminal prosecution statistics for Austria in 2020 is the figure that the authorities there have secured 4 convictions for breaches of section 7 the Austrian “War Materials Law”, and 9 convictions over all.

No detail is published on the nature of the offending, the identity of the offenders, or the sentences imposed.

December 4, 2020January 11, 2024 by Mark Handley

Latvia – raids as part of investigation of seven individuals

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.

November 24, 2020March 15, 2024 by Mark Handley

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.

November 12, 2020January 11, 2024 by Mark Handley

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.

October 20, 2020March 6, 2024 by Mark Handley

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.

June 17, 2020March 15, 2024 by Mark Handley

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.

April 25, 2020January 11, 2024 by Mark Handley

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.

March 30, 2020March 15, 2024 by Mark Handley

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.

February 26, 2020January 11, 2024 by Mark Handley

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.