Belarus – European Sanctions Enforcement

November 2, 2026November 2, 2026 by Mark Handley

Estonia – Customs enforcement statistics for sanctions since 2025

Estonia’s Customs body issued a press release back in August, detailing its enforcement actions in relation to Russian and Belarusian sanctions since the start of 2025.

1.05 million customs checks of which 47,000 were trucks and vehicles.
8143 violations detected averaging 13 per day, mostly relating to the attempted export of cash and/or consumer goods.
1017 misdemeanour proceedings commenced, of which 931 have reached a decision.
The average fine across the 931 determined cases was €269, for a total of just over €250,000.
146 criminal proceedings commenced, for the more serious conduct.

October 19, 2026October 19, 2026 by Mark Handley

France – Belarusian couple convicted for transporting euros

It is being reported that a Belarusian couple aged 40 and 39 have been convicted in absentia in relation to a stop of their vehicle conducted in August 2022.

The couple were stopped upon entering France from Switzerland and were found to have had an undeclared amount of €11,925, as well as a small amount of drugs.

The couple sought to explain that the euros were intended for a vehicle purchase, but could provide no evidence on this.

On the basis of the prohibitions in EU regulation 765/2006 against exporting EU currency to a Belarus person, the physical currency was confiscated and a fine of the same amount of €11,925 was imposed.

October 7, 2026October 7, 2026 by Mark Handley

Lithuania – fine of €418,677 for Belarus sanctions breaches upheld in court

It is being reported that the Regional Administrative Court of Lithuania has upheld a challenge to a fine of €418,677 imposed by the Financial Crime Investigation Service against the company Dage Capital for breaching the EU’s sanctions against Belarus.

The company sold luxury cars to entities in Poland and the UK for on-sale to Belarus.

The company was also found to have used accounts with the designated Alfa-Bank in Belarus.

October 7, 2026October 7, 2026 by Mark Handley

Romania – investigation into dual-use exports to Belarus via third countries

It is being reported, that Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) is investigating the company World Machinery Works S.R.L. and two of its senior managers on suspicion of export of dual use goods to Belarus in breach of EU sanctions.

The attempted exports were in two parts valued at €980,000 and €1.75m and are suspected of being destined for BelAz Holdings in Belarus.

The machine tools were initially exported to Germany. One remains there, the other got as far as Kazakhstan before being stopped. It had been routed via Germany, Austria, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and then Kazakhstan with the alleged destination being Belarus.

The report notes that several of the suspected individuals have already admitted involvement.

June 23, 2026June 23, 2026 by Mark Handley

Lithuania – sanctions enforcement statistics and €6.2m in fines for 2025

Lithuania’s Financial Crimes Investigation Service has issued a summary of its work for 2025, as well as a more detailed report (see pages 45-46) that includes the following:

232 suspicious activity reports from financial institutions related to suspected breaches or circumvention of sanctions;
77 of these were reported to other competent bodies in Lithuania or in other EU member states;
45 inspections from the International Sanctions Implementation Commission;
€6,236,375.46m in fines for 2025 across 12 cases;
In addition:
- in 2025, 27 cases were dealt with administratively with fines in these minor cases totalling more than €32,150
- in 2024, 19 cases were dealt with administratively with fines totalling €28,000
- in 2023, 12 cases were dealt with administratively (the value of the fines is not given)

The report also notes that 1 of the cases related to public procurement, 1 to the failure to provide information, 5 to circumvention, and 20 to the use of a bank designated by the EU.

June 15, 2026June 15, 2026 by Mark Handley

Poland – sanctions enforcement statistics with nearly 2500 cases registered

A lengthy article in the Belarusian Investigative Center on alleged sanctions circumvention regarding Belarusian wood pellets, includes data obtained from the Polish Prosecutor’s office on sanctions enforcement:

187 criminal cases were pending as of mid-2026 for circumvention of sanctions against Belarus and Russia (see our earlier post from May 2026 where the figure was 191);
nearly 2,500 sanctions cases have been registered;
85% of these 2500 cases, or over 2100, concerned Belarus; and
At least 91 criminal proceedings were specifically related to wood-processing products.

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

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.

May 8, 2026May 8, 2026 by Mark Handley

Latvia – sanctions enforcement data from Customs for the first quarter of 2026

A few weeks ago, Latvia’s Customs Service published data on its sanctions enforcement actions for the first quarter of 2026.

This includes:

161 shipments destined for prohibited export to Russia and Belarus were stopped;
26 shipments intended for prohibited import from Russia and Belarus were stopped;
43 attempts to export cash to Russia were prevented;
42 cases of violation by individuals using the postal service;
29 administrative proceedings were commenced for violations of sanctions; and
18 cases were referred to initiate criminal prosecutions.