The company that owns the oil tanker ‘Grinch’ has, according to a press release by the Prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône pleaded guilty in a Marseilles court.
It is being reported that the company was fined several million euros.
The vessel has been allowed to leave French waters with its cargo intact.
The offence alleged was failing to provide proof of the ship’s flag status under article L 5233-2 of the French Transport Code.
After seizing the oil tanker the “Grinch” in international waters last week, the vessel is now anchored off Foss-sur-Mer in the south of France.
The captain of the vessel, an Indian national, has been detained by the French authorities pending further investigations. It is being reported that one part of the investigation being conducted by the Maritime Gendarmerie’s Investigation Unit in Toulon and the Marseille Ship Safety Centre, is charges of failure to fly a valid flag.
Further to our earlier post from October 2025, this is not the first such seizure, with the French authorities seizing the vessel the Boracay off the west coast of France. In that case the vessel was allowed to depart and the captain was released without charge,
The European anti-fraud agency OLAF has issued a press release on an investigation it has coordinated into the export of 766 transport vehicles to Russia despite the exporters claiming they were destined for one of Türkiye, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova.
The investigation first arose after a report by the Polish authorities, with OLAF then tracking each individual vehicle to determine that it had been exported to Russia.
The press release notes that “OLAF’s findings led to criminal investigations in three different Member States”, but no further information is given on which member states or the current progress of those investigations.
The press release also thanks the various countries which were labelled as the destination for the trucks in providing assistance in confirming that the vehicles never arrived.
Last week the German authorities ordered the vessel Tavian not to enter German territorial waters after inspection of the ship’s papers resulted in a finding that the vessel was sailing under a false flag and with a fake IMO number, and a suspicion that the tanker was being used to ship Russian oil.
The vessel complied with the order and turned around before returning to the North Sea and turning off its transponder.
Other reports include a comment from the Bundespolizei that they could not comment on an “ongoing operational procedure”.
Polish authorities have charged an individual after attempting to import an inflatable vessel into Poland from Belarus.
The individual is a Belarusian national, and the inflatable craft was identified by Polish customs at the Terespol border checkpoint.
After a Russian vessel had engine trouble and entered Swedish territorial waters, Swedish Customs boarded the vessel and commenced an investigation into whether possible sanctions or export control offences may have been committed.
The vessel, the Adler, is designated under EU sanctions, and the owner sanctioned by the US. It is reported that the cargo included arms and military equipment.
It is now being reported that the vessel has been allowed to depart Swedish waters, after the Prosecutor’s Office declined to open a criminal investigation, on the basis that there was no intent to being the vessel or its goods into Sweden.
It is being reported that the Munich Prosecutor’s Office is investigating a number of businesses suspected of exporting 50 luxury cars to Russia in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
The cars are said to be valued at €10 million, including one car fitted with armour valued at €650,000.
The report alleges that the exports were done via third countries including Kazakhstan.
Further to our earlier post, the prosecution trial of Damen Shipping has commenced in the Netherlands.
The company has denied the allegations, which include that it falsified customs declarations to enable the export of 14 deck cranes to Russia during 2022 in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
Senior management have also been charged with sanctions offences.
The trial includes charges of bribery against Damen.
It is being reported that seven residential and commercial premises in the Steinfurt area were raided on 20 November by Customs officers from Essen, Münster and Osnabrück.
The raids relate to allegations that three individuals (aged 57, 32 and 27) were involved in the export of 346 luxury cars to Russia via third countries in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
The exports are said to have taken place between 2022 and 2024 and have totalled approximately €20m in value.
The report adds that assets (including real estate, cars and bank accounts) valued at €20m have been seized as part of the investigation.
The Swedish Police have issued a report on sanctions compliance in the country, concluding that trade flows to countries neighbouring Russia suggests Swedish involvement in the circumvention of the EU’s sanctions.
In relation to the work of Swedish customs, the report noted that in 2023 more than 200 export shipments were stopped, and that 3,000 export declarations in 2024 were “subject to special review measures”.
The press release to the report notes that “a handful of preliminary investigations [are] underway regarding sanctions violations at the Police Authority and at Swedish Customs”.
The report also highlights an earlier 2024 report by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority on the outcome of its review of the sanctions screening processes and methodologies of 19 banks operating in Sweden. The report noted that none of the banks assessed had good enough automatic screening in place, but that the larger banks were better at screening than the small and medium sized banks.
