Further to our earlier post, it is being reported that, on Sunday 2 August, the EU’s operation EUNAVFOR MED Irini has boarded another tanker, the Toa Payoh, off Sicily. The vessel was sailing from Benin to Istanbul.
The boarding was to determine and investigate the flag status of the vessel which was claiming to have recently switched to a Cameroonian flag.
The vessel was not seized or detained as part of the operation.
It is being reported that on 20 July, the EU’s Mediterranean naval taskforce IRINI boarded the Turkish-owned oil tanker, the South Star, in order to assess and investigate its flag status. Under a different name the vessel had been designated by both the EU and the UK in 2025.
The report states that there was uncertainty over the vessel’s flag status as between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.
The vessel was allowed to proceed after the boarding and inspection.
The same reporting refers to IRINI’s published information which says that it had conducted three earlier flag verification boardings during the month of June.
Further to our earlier post reporting on the UK’s investigation into Airbus, HMRC has today issued a Notice to Exporters that Airbus Operations Limited (AOL) has entered into a compound settlement with HMRC under which it will pay a fine of £6,409,388 for offences under The Export Control Order 2008.
This is the largest fine imposed by HMRC under the compound settlement regime, and is another example of the new practice of sometimes naming companies that enter into such settlements.
The offences do not relate to sanctions but to the UK’s strategic export controls regime.
The breaches took place “over a sustained period” before November 2022 and were self-reported by AOL which cooperated with the investigation and has implemented remediation.
The breaches are described in only general terms as follows:
Further to our earlier post, it is being reported that a hearing took place in London on Thursday of last week relating to the prosecution of Ajay Pant, the Indian national who was captain of the oil tanker the MV Smyrtos.
As part of the hearing Pant’s application to be released on bail was refused and a four week trial was listed to start on 15 December.
In addition, the court has scheduled a hearing on 12 November to hear an application by the defendant to have the charges dismissed. The reporting does not mention the basis for that application.
Further to our earlier post regarding the detention by the French authorities of the oil sanctioned shadow fleet tanker, the Tagor, on 2 July, the company owning the vessel pleaded guilty in a Brest court to failing to be flagged and a refusal to comply with an order.
The company was fined, and paid, a fine of €1m. Upon payment the vessel was released and the is now sailing for Istanbul.
Our European Vessel Seizure Tracker has been updated.
Further to our earlier posts (here, and here, and here), Risto Riihimäki has been convicted of aggravated sanctions breaches for his role in the export of 135 trucks to Russian in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
The trucks were declared to be transiting through Russia, but that was actually their final destination.
Mr Riihimäki was the CEO of the company Idän liikennevälitys IL Oy, and he has been sentenced to jail for three years and eight months, just below the 4 year maximum sentence for the offence under Finnish law.
In addition, the court has imposed confiscation order for €608,275 against Mr Riihimäki as the proceeds of crime, and a confiscation order against the company for profits it obtained from the exports in the sum of €6m. The company was also fined €10,000.
Although two other employees had originally been the subject of the investigation, ultimately they were not charged.
The conviction and sentence remain subject to appeal.
The UK’s HM Revenue and Customs has announced the imposition of a compound penalty of £569,157 on Petrofac Facilities Management Limited.
This is the first time, in a long time, that HMRC has named the recipient of a compound penalty.
The breaches took place in 2022 and 2023 with the company supplying prohibited goods to individuals connected with Russia and also providing technical assistance in relation to those goods.
The company subsequently self-reported and cooperated with the investigation.
The change in naming policy is addressed:
“Naming those involved brings us into line with other enforcement partners whilst sending a clear message on the consequences of breaching sanctions rules.”
The Notice further states that “Where appropriate, HMRC will now include naming as a condition when offering a compound settlement for strategic export and sanctions offences“. It appears that naming will now become more common if not done universally.
The Notice also gives helpful guidance on when HMRC will consider a compound penalty rather than prosecution, noting that a penalty will only be pursued where HMRC considers it has enough evidence to prosecute, and other considerations, including:
President Macron has confirmed that the French Navy on Tuesday detained the oil tanker, the Deliver off the coast of Sicily.
The vessel was sailing from Primorsk in Russia and is reported to have been flying a Cameroonian flag.
The vessel has been been moved to an anchorage for inspections to take place.
Our Shadow Fleet detention tracker has been updated.
Further to our earlier post regarding the prosecution for exporting 135 trucks and 29 trailers from Finland to Russia, it is being reported that the criminal trial has started this week in Helsinki.
The prosecution are seeking a four year jail term for the individual and a fine for the company involved.
It is alleged that in 2022 and 2023 the vehicles were declared as bound for Kazakhstan and Türkiye and only transiting via Russia, but were actually exported to Russia.
The UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation has issued a Penalty Notice against Sabre Global Technologies Limited (SGTL) imposing a fine of just over £1m against this UK entity.
SGTL continued to provide services to JSC Ural Airlines after that entity was designated in May 2022 and after the fact of the designation was communicated to SGTL by its lawyers on the same day.
Three payments were made to SGTL by JSC Ural Airlines between June and September 2022 totalling $906,576.30. These payments were blocked by SGTL’s bank.
In October 2022 SGTL self-disclosed the breaches to OFSI.
The Penalty Notice identified the following breaches:
These breaches, especially the continued offering of SGTL’s product, were assessed as having a value of £2,634,001.54.
OFSI assessed the breaches as being in the “most serious” category given the value, the duration and the efforts at circumvention. The fine was assessed at the maximum of 50% of the value, and then the company obtained a 20% discount to reflect self-disclosure.
The Penalty Notice makes several other “Notes on Compliance”:
