The US Department of Justice has issued a press release confirming that the Latvian authorities have arrested a 55-year old, Oleg Chistyakov.
He has been charged with multiple counts of breaching US sanctions and other offences as part of an alleged wider conspiracy with two other also-charged individuals to supply avionics materials to Russia in breach of US sanctions.
The man was arrested near Riga on 19 March pending proceedings for extradition to the United States.
It has been reported today that the Polish Interior Ministry has confirmed an investigation into the alleged importation of timber from Belarus.
The allegations include that the timber was accompanied by forged documentation purporting to show a Kazakhstan origin for the timber.
Other investigations into alleged imports of timber from Russia or Belarus in breach of EU sanctions are underway in:
This blog has been live now for just over two months.
During that time and by way of recap, a number of states have provided updated enforcement statistics in that period (Finland, Switzerland, Latvia), but the period has also seen a significant volume of new enforcement activity:
Continue reading “European sanctions enforcement: the last two months”
In line with the parallel example from Lithuania, the Latvian authorities have imposed their first fine for breach of the ban on Russian registered vehicles.
The driver was fined €750 and the car was confiscated.
The Criminal Customs Service of Lithuania has undertaken its first enforcement of the EU sanctions which prevents a Russian-registered car from driving in Lithuania.
The car in question, valued at over €40,000 was confiscated and the driver was fined.
It has been reported that the Danish Business Authority is currently investigating the Danish shipping company Hafnia for possible breaches of the EU’s Russian sanctions.
The allegations relate to the importation in October of 30 million litres of aviation fuel from a refinery in India which may be owned or controlled by designated persons.
Hafnia is reported to have denied the allegations and stated that it acts in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.
The Parquet de Paris (Paris Prosecutor’s Office) has seized a villa valued at €120 million in the south of France, and the shares of the company that is the registered owner of the villa.
The Paris Prosecutors allege that the villa is really owned or controlled by GazpromNeft, the Russian state-owned gas company which is designated in the EU and so subject to an asset freeze.
The seizure forms part of a ongoing investigation.
On Friday France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office applied to the Paris court to have charges of terrorist financing, and breach of the relevant EU sanctions heard against Lafarge Holcim and nine individuals.
This criminal trial would go ahead before the trial of Lafarge on allegations of crimes against humanity after the Court of Cassation ruled last month that those charges should proceed.
For our earlier posts on the Lafarge matter see here.
It has been reported that the Moldovan authorities are investigating allegations that three Moldovan companies have sold $15m in aircraft parts to Russian airlines.
Moldova, although not a part of the EU, has adopted its own sanctions against Russia.
The three companies are Airrock Solutions, Aerostage Services and Maxjet Service. It is alleged the companies acted as intermediaries, purchasing the parts from suppliers and then on-selling.
It is being reported that the companies deny knowing that the parts were being delivered to Russia and that they each thought the parts were going to other CIS countries.
The confirmation of an investigation is reported to have come from the office of the President of Moldova.
It has been reported today that the UK has provided the UN Committee responsible for oversight of the UN’s sanctions against North Korea with a dossier of evidence said to establish breaches of those sanctions by Russian shipping.
The Committee has the power to designate vessels which it finds were complicit in breaching the existing sanctions.
