Custodial sentence – Page 2 – European Sanctions Enforcement

March 9, 2026March 9, 2026 by Mark Handley

Estonia – individual sentenced to 3.5 years’ jail for assisting Russian exports

Further to our earlier post regarding his extradition from Italy to Estonia, it is now being reported that Ivan Anchevsky has been sentenced to 3 and a half years jail for prohibited exports of equipment to Russia.

The judgment remains subject to appeal.

The conviction relates to the shipping of equipment from Switzerland to Russia with assistance from Anchevsky and his companies Militec LLC and Militec Europe.

As part of the same trial Anchevsky was acquitted of charges of exporting dual use goods.

February 11, 2026February 11, 2026 by Mark Handley

Latvia – 3 year sentence for attempted ammunition export to Russia

Further to our earlier post, it is being reported that the Estonian-Russian national prosecuted for attempting to export 10,000 rounds of ammunition to Russia hidden in a truck cab has been convicted.

He has been sentenced to 3 years in jail.

The verdict remains subject to appeal.

February 6, 2026February 27, 2026 by Mark Handley

United Kingdom – company director convicted and sentenced for exports of military-grade rifle sights to Hong Kong

The UK’s HMRC has issued a press release announcing the conviction and sentencing of Steven Gates for unlicensed exports of eight military-grade rifle sights to a buyer in Hong Kong.

Customs declarations were also falsified to say the sights were camera equipment.

One export was prevented in February 2022 by Border Force staff at Manchester Airport, and another in April 2023.

Searches at his house revealed evidence of another 10 exports.

Mr Gates has been sentenced to jail for 2 years and one month.

Importantly, the press release notes that HMRC is “pursuing 51 criminal investigations in 2024/2025 compared with give in 2021/22”.

November 3, 2025 by Mark Handley

Germany – conviction and lengthy jail term for sanctioned exports to Russia

Further to our earlier post, it is being reported (here, here and here) that in September a court in Frankfurt convicted Alexander S. of exports of sanctioned goods to Russia.

He is reported to have been sentenced to 4 years and 11 months in jail. Both the defence and prosecution have appealed.

The conviction relates to exports of dual use maritime technology to Russia via a procurement network said to be run through the Cypriot company Mostrello.

November 3, 2025November 3, 2025 by Mark Handley

Germany – 16 years of jail and €30m confiscated for nearly 500 luxury car exports to Russia

This story is actually from September 2024, and was previously missed by this blog.

Three individuals were convicted of 430 separate violations of the German Foreign Trade Act by way of exports of nearly 500 luxury cars to Russia in breach of sanctions.

The individuals falsely declared the exports were for Belarus.

Two of the individuals were each sentenced to 6 years in jail, and the third to 4 years.

In addition €30m in the gross proceeds of the sales were confiscated.

October 29, 2025October 29, 2025 by Mark Handley

Estonia – 2 year sentence for sanctions offences upheld on appeal

The Tallin Circuit Court has denied an appeal from Svetlana Burtseva against a conviction for sanctions and treason offences.

As per our earlier post, Burtseva has been sentenced to 6 years in jail, of which 2 years were for the sanctions offence.

The sanctions offence was the making of economic resources available to a sanctioned person. Ms Burceva worked for Russian state media outlet RIA Rossiya Segodnya, the head of which is Dmitry Kiselyov who is sanctioned by the EU.

October 10, 2025October 10, 2025 by Mark Handley

Estonia – individual sentenced to 4 years and 11 months jail for sanctions and espionage offences

It has been reported (and here) that Ivan Dmitriev, an Estonian national has been convicted of a range of offences including breaches of sanctions and espionage on behalf of Russia’s FSB.

He was sentenced to four years and 11 months in jail.

The reports do not provide detail on the conduct constituting breaches of the EU’s Russian sanctions.

October 9, 2025October 9, 2025 by Mark Handley

Germany – sentencing of five individuals convicted of Russian sanctions offences

Last month we posted regarding the conviction of five individuals for Russian trade sanctions offences by the Hamburg Regional Court.

It is being reported that the sentences have now been handed down.

Of the five individuals, one was given a custodial sentence of four and a half years, and two others were given custodial sentences of three years.

The final two defendants were given suspended sentences.

The offending concerned the shipment of electronic components valued at over EUR850,000 to Russia via third countries such as Hong Kong, China, Armenia and the UAE.

August 27, 2025August 27, 2025 by Mark Handley

Estonia – prison sentence for offences including the attempted export of luxury goods

It is being reported that the Tartu Country Court yesterday convicted Erna Moisejeva of a range of offences including the multiple attempted exports of luxury goods to Russia n breach of the EU’s sanctions.

She was also convicted of espionage and supplying information to the FSB.

Moisejeva was sentenced to 3 years’ jail and ordered to pay court costs of €3140.

The judgment remains subject to appeal.

July 22, 2025July 22, 2025 by Mark Handley

Estonia – lengthy custodial sentence for sanctions offences

Estonia’s Office of the Prosecutor has issued a press release regarding an agreed settlement with Pavel Kapustin convicting him of sanctions offences as well as espionage and supplying false information.

The man was sentenced to 6.5 years’ jail and assets valued at €90,000 were confiscated. The press release does not break down the sentence by offence.

The man took orders for luxury goods from Russian customers and arranged for their transport to Russia in breach of the EU’s sanctions.

This is the sixth custodial sentence handed down in Estonia for sanctions offences so far this year.