Financial Sanctions – Page 4 – European Sanctions Enforcement

January 22, 2026January 22, 2026 by Mark Handley

Cyprus – Securities and Exchange Commission refers sanctions cases to police and Attorney General

As part of a press conference setting out the various strands of work conducted by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, information has been provided on sanctions enforcement:

“What is more, enhanced monitoring was conducted on entities with current or past exposure to persons subject to EU restrictive measures against Russia.

Cases involving potential breaches of sanctions were forwarded to the police and the attorney general for further investigation, with relevant information also shared with the National Sanctions Implementation Unit established under the new sanctions framework that entered into force in July 2025“.

It was also stated that CySEC had imposed total fines and penalties of €2.3m during 2025 but no information is given to indicate that any of this sum related to sanctions fines. The CySEC website itself does not include the details of any fines in 2025.

January 22, 2026January 22, 2026 by Mark Handley

Germany – two arrested for providing funds and economic resources to Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics

Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor has issued a press release relating to the arrest of two individuals for supplying funds and economic resources to the sanctioned Ukrainian separatist groups the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.

It is alleged the two individuals, Suren A. (Russian) and Falko H. (German) transferred €14,000 to these groups and also organised the transport of supplies, drones and medical products to them.

The press release mentioned raids of May 2025 in Berlin and Brandenburg, including of a third suspect.

January 19, 2026January 19, 2026 by Mark Handley

Portugal – prosecution brought against football club for receiving payment from sanctioned Russian club

It is being reported (and here behind a paywall) that Portuguese football club Casa Pia, and the clb’s executive manager, are being prosecuted by Portugal’s Public Prosecutor’s Office for an alleged breach of the EU’s sanctions.

The allegation is that the club received €1.5 million from the Russian football club FC Akhmat in payment for a player transfer.

FC Akhmat is said to be owned by Ramzan Kadyrov, who is a designated person under the EU’s sanctions.

Reports also state that the indictment includes accusations of forgery and money laundering as part of deceiving the club’s bank as to the origin of the funds.

January 12, 2026January 12, 2026 by Mark Handley

Romania – enforcement of travel ban on person designated under EU’s Global Human Rights sanctions

An individual included in the EU’s Global Human Rights sanctions list has been barred from entering Romania and deported.

The press reporting does not name the sanctioned individual, but the reporting indicates the person to have been an Israeli settler.

January 8, 2026January 8, 2026 by Mark Handley

Luxembourg – CSSF fines bank €185,000 including for sanctions compliance failings

Luxembourg’s financial services regulator, the CSSF, has issued a fine against Rakuten Bank SA for various compliance failings including sanctions and AML.

One of the failings identified was “accumulated significant and recurring delays in processing alerts relating to customer screening against list of persons subject to restrictive measures in financial matters”. The Notice identified a particular example of a customer subject to anti-terrorism sanctions where the review of the alert took more than six months.

Another failing identified was a failure to “apply ‘without delay’ potential restrictive measures in financial matters”.

January 2, 2026January 2, 2026 by Mark Handley

Italy – raids and arrests as part of Hamas fundraising investigation

The Guardia di Finanza and Police in Italy have arrested nine people and seized over €8m in assets as part of an investigation into fundraising on behalf of sanctioned group Hamas.

The Guardia di Finanza press release is here.

The investigation was supported by Eurojust and authorities in the Netherlands.

As part of the investigation premises have been searched in Genoa, Milan, Rome, Turin, Bologna, Bergamo, Florence, Monza Brianza, Lodi and Sassuolo, with cash of €1,080,000 seized.

It is alleged that various front organizations raised funds, not for charitable or humanitarian purposes, but to support the military operations of Hamas.

January 2, 2026January 2, 2026 by Mark Handley

Germany – €10 million payment to settle sanctions investigation into Usmanov

Prosecutors in Germany have settled their investigation and prosecution of Alisher Usmanov for suspected breaches of EU sanctions.

The settlement involves a payment of €10 million but no admission of liability.

The investigation related to allegations of payments made by or on behalf Usmanov, a designated person, in relation the provision of security for two properties in Germany.

December 23, 2025December 23, 2025 by Mark Handley

Latvia – raids and arrest for alleged sanctions breaches

It is being reported that Latvia’s State Security Service conducted a number of raids, and arrested an individual suspected of breaching the EU’s sanctions against Russia.

It is being reported that the individual is Viktors Guščins, who is alleged to have provided an economic resource to a designated person in the form of publications and propaganda material.

December 23, 2025December 23, 2025 by Mark Handley

France – Lafarge sanctions trial ends with verdict due in April 2026

After a six-week trial, verdict in the Lafarge prosecution is now expected on 13 April 2026.

The Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office is seeking a fine of €1.125 million, as well as a fine of €4.57 million that is directly related to the alleged breaches of EU sanctions.

The prosecution is also seeking lengthy jail terms for the eight individual defendants of between 18 months and 8 years, including 6 years for the former CEO, as well as a €225,000 fine and a 10-year ban on serving in any management position in a company.

December 16, 2025December 16, 2025 by Mark Handley

Germany – report that there are 6,000 criminal proceedings for Russian and Belarus sanctions breaches ongoing

It is being reported in an article published in trans.info that the German authorities currently have approximately 6000 criminal proceedings for sanctions offences that are ongoing.

This number is said to be specific to the EU’s Russian and Belarusian sanctions regimes.

No further information is provided on the status of the cases.