Bulgaria – European Sanctions Enforcement

August 25, 2025August 25, 2025 by Mark Handley

Lithuania – Customs raids and arrests for sanctioned exports in conjunction with raids in Portugal and Bulgaria

On Saturday Lithuania’s Customs issued a press release announcing raids on a company based in Kaunas, and associated residential premises, with 11 people (employees, company managers, as well as drivers) detained and a dozen tons of equipment (valued at around €2 million) seized.

It is alleged the company was exporting to Russia via Bulgaria and Turkey based on a fictitious customer in Portugal. Contemporaneous raids were conducted in Bulgaria to seize a shipment that had already left Lithuania, and in Portugal at the premises of the Portuguese customer.

The operation was coordinated by Eurojust and Europol and with assistance from the Portuguese authorities.

The exports are described as “water treatment equipment (dosing stations, large industrial water filters (osmosis), etc.) and their components (various pumps, filters, membranes)”. The press release adds that the products were specifically designed for the Russian customer.

August 13, 2025August 13, 2025 by Mark Handley

Bulgaria – raids on companies suspected of arms exports to Russia

It is being reported that the National Investigation Service of Bulgaria has conducted multiple raids in Sofia and elsewhere in relation to alleged arms sales to Russia.

The raids are being conducted after information shared by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau.

A press release from the Prosecutor’s Office refers to raids on business and residential properties, relating to multiple companies. The only company named as the subject of the raids in the press reporting is Sage Consultants AD.

The raids were also conducted with officers from the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDCOC) and the General Directorate Gendarmerie, Special Operations and Counterterrorism.

August 4, 2025August 4, 2025 by Mark Handley

Germany and Bulgaria – raids at German manufacturer with three charged with sanctions offences

Last week more than 140 officers from the Munich Customs Investigation Office and the Munich I Public Prosecutor’s Office conducted raids on several premises in Munich and Baden Württemberg.

The subject of the raids was a machine tool manufacturer suspected of exporting 20 machines valued at more than €5.5m to Russia in breach of the EU’s sanctions.

It has subsequently been reported that the company was Spinner GmbH.

It has also now been reported that three individuals have been charged with sanctions offences. They have not been named.

The press release from the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office also stated that the Bulgarian authorities conducted contemporaneous raids at premises in Bulgaria with support and coordination from Eurojust.

August 14, 2024 by Mark Handley

European Public Prosecutor’s Office conducts Russian sanctions-related raid in Bulgaria

It is being reported (here and here) that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office has conducted a raid on the premises of Bulgartransgaz in Bulgaria.

The investigation is said to concern whether natural gas supplied via the Turkish company Botas may include gas of Russian origin and be being done in circumvention of the EU’s Russian sanctions.

This would be the first public and specific investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office into allegation of sanctions breaches.

April 22, 2024 by Mark Handley

European Sanctions Enforcement – milestone of over 2000 announced and active investigations reached

With the recent news that Finland has increased the number of its ongoing investigations, Europe (meaning the EU, the UK, Switzerland, etc) has reached the milestone of over 2,000 ongoing and public sanctions enforcement investigations being undertaken by regulators and prosecutors.

No doubt there are other investigations which are ongoing in the countries shown on the graph, and no doubt there are investigations ongoing in countries not shown and which remain confidential.

How many of these will be dropped due to inconclusive evidence or exculpatory evidence, and how many will lead to a conviction or fine or acquittal is impossible to say.

It is, without question, an unprecedented level of enforcement.

October 10, 2023January 11, 2024 by Mark Handley

Bulgaria charges five with sanctions breaches

The Bulgarian authorities have charged five individuals on suspicion of exporting military goods to Russia valued at more than €2 million in breach of the EU’s sanctions.

The goods are said to be optical sights, binoculars, aeronautical radio communication systems, ballistic calculators and software.

In total 12 people were arrested, but so far only 5 have been charged.