The German Ministry of Economy has launched an investigation into whether engineering company Bosch has made unlawful exports to Russian in breach of EU sanctions.
Germany – charges for dual-use exports to Russia
Further to our earlier post, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office has issued a press release confirming the indictment of Alexander S. on further charges relating to the export of dual-use goods to Russia in breach of EU sanctions.
The value of the exports is estimated at over €1 million.
The press release documents warning issued to Alexander S by the German authorities and his efforts to circumvent the prohibitions through falsifying documents and arranging for export from an Asian country.
UK’s HMRC imposes 10 fines for export control violations
The UK’s HM Revenue and Customs has today announced the imposition of 10 compound penalties in relation to failures to comply with the UK’s export control regulations for dual-use and military goods. The fines were imposed between March and November 2021.
HMRC’s Notice to Exporters can be found here.
In line with HMRC’s standard practice the compound penalties are anonymised and of low value, with little information made available. The information provided is supplied below.
Continue reading “UK’s HMRC imposes 10 fines for export control violations”
Denmark – sentences and fines for breach of Syrian sanctions
Two Danish companies have been convicted of exporting 177,000 tonnes of jet fuel to Syria in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
In total some 33 transactions took place between 2015 and 2017, with the exports routed through Russian companies bound for Syria.
The company Dan-Bunkering was fined DKK 30 million ($4.6m), with a further DKK 15 million of unlawful profits confiscated.
The parent company Bunker Holding was fined DKK 4 million.
The Dan Bunkering CEO was also convicted and given a four-month custodial sentence , suspended pending a one year probation period.
Netherlands – conviction for exports to Syria
The Rotterdam District Court has convicted a manager of a wholesale business of exports to Syria in breach of EU sanctions.
The export was of 128,000 litres of acetone, which is a product listed in Annex IX of the EU regulation.
The sentence was for a three month sentence suspended for 2 years and 180 hours of community service. This was lower than sought by the prosecution.
The company responsible for the exports was acquitted on the basis that the prosecution only commenced after it had already been wound up.
Germany – arrest and raids over nuclear equipment exports to Iran
It has been reported today that the German authorities have conducted raids on 11 premises across Hamburg, Schleswig Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia, and that one individual (named only as Alexander J) has been arrested on suspicion of the unlawful export of machinery and equipment to Iran in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
The products were alleged to have been destined for Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and to have been valued at over €1.1 million.
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office press release is here.
Germany – €11 million confiscation for unlicensed exports upheld on appeal
The German Federal Court of Justice has upheld the confiscation of €11 million imposed on Sig Sauer for unlicensed exports of small arms to Colombia.
See our earlier post, for the original fine from 2019.
The exports were made as part fulfilment of a contract by the US government to supply weapons to the Colombian police, but the necessary export licences were not obtained from the German authorities.
The judgment is available here.
Germany – arrests for dual-use exports to Russia
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has issued a press release announcing the arrest of an individual Alexander S on charges of exporting dual-use goods to military recipients in Russian in breach of EU sanctions.
Although the press release does not state as much, it is likely that this individual is the same as is already facing charges relating to earlier exports.
The arrest warrant alleges the export of dual-use high-quality machine tools to an end customer in the Russian defence sector.
Germany – appeal orders prosecution for chemical exports to proceed
We reported in an earlier post that an investigation had been opened in Germany in 2018 in relation to suspected unlawful chemical exports to Japan and United States.
Since then in February 2021 the Regional Court in Oldenburg had ruled that the prosecution of three individuals at VET Pharma Freisoythe GmbH could not proceed based on a technical issue with the implementation of the EU Anti-Torture Regulation into German law.
The prosecutor’s office appealed, and the Higher Regional Court has upheld that appeal and ordered the prosecution to proceed.
The judgment is available here.
Germany – earlier convictions for illegal arms exports upheld
Further to an earlier post, the German Federal Court of Justice has today upheld an earlier conviction of two individuals and a company for unlawful exports of assault rifles to Mexico.
The company, Heckler & Koch, had appealed the earlier judgment and the confiscation of its gross profits from the sales. The two convicted individuals had also appealed.
The Federal Court has upheld the earlier judgment finding that the company had falsified export licence applications to mask the final destination for the weapons.