General – European Sanctions Enforcement

June 12, 2026June 12, 2026 by Mark Handley

Belgium – three convicted of Russian sanctions breaches

Reuters is reporting that three individuals have today been convicted of Russian sanctions offences.

The offending involved the shipment of goods for the Russian defence sector via third countries including Hong Kong and Kazakhstan. The goods are described as “sanctioned goods, including rare earths, an explosive detector and a defence-related machine”.

The first defendant, named in the reporting as Victor Labin, was given an €80,000 fine and a five year prison sentence, with one year of that suspended.

The second defendant, reported to be Ruslan Labin, and tried in absentia was sentenced to six years in jail and an €8,000 fine.

The third defendant, named only as P.I., was given a three year sentence, suspended for five years, and an €8,000 fine.

June 12, 2026June 12, 2026 by Mark Handley

UK – two convicted for tens of millions in prohibited arms sales

HM Revenue and Customs has issued a press release relating to yesterday’s conviction of David Greenhalgh and Christos Farmakis on multiple counts (nine and ten respectively) of unlawful exports of military hardware in breach of UK sanctions and arms embargos under the Export Control Order 2008.

Mr Farmakis was tried in absentia with HMRC stating that he is thought to currently be in Greece and that HMRC is “working with international partners to bring him to the UK to face justice”.

Sentencing is due to take place in July, with the judge reported as saying that Mr Greenhalgh should expect a lengthy custodial sentence.

The unlicensed sales and exports were to Sudan, South Sudan and Libya between 2009 and 2016 and were largely of ex-Soviet equipment including “ex-Soviet jets, surface-to-air missile systems, anti-tank missiles, thousands of assault rifles and other controlled goods”.

The transactions were conducted through Mr Greenhalgh’s companies and involved circuitous transport routes as well as faked end-user certificates.

June 10, 2026June 10, 2026 by Mark Handley

Poland – two charged with sanctioned exports of dual-use goods to Russia

Poland’s ABW (Agency for Internal Security) has issued a press release related to the charging of two individuals, Eduard K. and Krzysztof J., on suspicion of exporting dual use goods to Russia in breach of the EU’s sanctions.

The equipment was a CNC machine tool and a thermal chamber for metalworking. The equipment was purchased in Germany and transported to Poland before being shipped to Turkey for further export into Russia.

The goods were stopped from being exported and the two suspects have been detained since September last year.

The press release notes the availability of a sentence of not less than three years as well as confiscations.

June 8, 2026June 8, 2026 by Mark Handley

Latvia – trial begins in significant case for the EU’s Russian sanctions

Further to our earlier post, trial has begun today in Riga of Eduard Tsehoval, the former head of the property known as Moscow House, in Latvia.

The prosecution alleges that Moscow House was ultimately owned or controlled by designated persons, Moscow’s Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, or by President Putin in their respective official capacities.

It is alleged that Mr Tsehoval oversaw the continued collection of rent by Moscow House after the imposition of sanctions, thereby making funds available to designated persons.

If the prosecution is successful on the basis of the property being controlled by President Putin, this case could have significant ramifications in the way Russian state-owned property is treated under the EU’s Russian sanctions.

June 8, 2026June 8, 2026 by Mark Handley

Bulgaria – investigation announced into real estate deal suspected of breaching Russian sanctions

It is being reported that Bulgaria’s Ministry of Justice has ordered an investigation into sales of real estate in Bulgaria by the Russian state enterprise Goszagransobstvennost.

The sales are reported to have been to Valentin Zlatev, former head of Lukoil Bulgaria, and with payment said to have been deferred until the lifting of sanctions.

June 1, 2026June 1, 2026 by Mark Handley

France – seizure of sanctioned oil tanker, the Tagor

French President Macron has announced the seizure yesterday of the tanker the Tagor in the Atlantic. The British Royal Navy provided support.

It is reported that the vessel was en route from Murmansk, and so was presumably carrying cargo.

The vessel was in international waters some 400 nautical miles west of France, and is suspected of sailing under a false flag.

We have updated our Vessel Seizure tracker – here.

June 1, 2026June 1, 2026 by Mark Handley

Estonia – sanctions enforcement data since January 2026 for Customs and Tax Board

Collating the outcomes published in the weekly reports by Estonia’s Tax and Customs Board (see our earlier post for the period from 14 October 2025 to 13 January 2026), reveals the following data:

18 fines
total fines of €226,669, with most being small and one of €219,210 including confiscation
13 cases referred to misdemeanour prosecution
3 cases referred to criminal prosecution, including one case that resulted in a 1 year jail term, a 3 year ban on entry to Estonia and a €3400 fine
6 cases referred for further investigation.

The weekly reports give details of many other prevented exports and imports where no further action was taken for first time offenders.

June 1, 2026June 1, 2026 by Mark Handley

Poland – prosecution of group exporting goods to Belarus

It is being reported (here and here) that the Polish authorities have arrested and imposed bail and travel restrictions on several members of a ring suspected of exports of sanctioned goods to Belarus.

Also arrested, and a search conducted at her house, was a Polish Customs official who is alleged to have taken bribes in return for allowing goods to be exported without inspections.

The exporters are said to have used two sets of paperwork, with Polish Customs shown export documents for food and beverage products, and Belarusian customs shown accurate paperwork for the sanctioned spare parts and other engineering products.

The exports are said to have taken placed between June 2025 and April 2026 using the Kukuryki-Kazlovichy border crossing.

May 28, 2026May 28, 2026 by Mark Handley

Estonia – conviction for supplying press articles to Russian designated person

The District Court in Viru has convicted Aleksei Toom of sanctions offences and sentenced his to nine months in prison suspended for one year conditional upon no further offending.

Mr Toom’s conviction was for authoring over 100 press articles for a media outlet that is controlled by Dmitry Kiselyov, a designated person under the EU’s Russian sanctions.

Mr Toom’s employment had ended in October 2020, but he continued to write under the pen name Paul Tomson until December 2023.

The Prosecution, and the court, took the view that such articles were an economic resource, and that Russia Today’s portal, Baltnews, was controlled by Mr Kiselyov.

May 28, 2026May 28, 2026 by Mark Handley

Lithuania – arrest for attempted cash export to Belarus

It has been reported that the Lithuanian authorities have arrested a Polish national on suspicion of trying to export to Belarus the equivalent of €60,000 in physical currency in Polish zlotys and US dollars.

The man was attempting to climb over a border fence when he was detected.