Finland – European Sanctions Enforcement

July 2, 2026July 6, 2026 by Mark Handley

Finland – conviction for Russian truck exports with 3 years and 8 months jail and €6.6 million confiscated

Further to our earlier posts (here, and here, and here), Risto Riihimäki has been convicted of aggravated sanctions breaches for his role in the export of 135 trucks to Russian in breach of the EU’s sanctions.

The trucks were declared to be transiting through Russia, but that was actually their final destination.

Mr Riihimäki was the CEO of the company Idän liikennevälitys IL Oy, and he has been sentenced to jail for three years and eight months, just below the 4 year maximum sentence for the offence under Finnish law.

In addition, the court has imposed confiscation order for €608,275 against Mr Riihimäki as the proceeds of crime, and a confiscation order against the company for profits it obtained from the exports in the sum of €6m. The company was also fined €10,000.

Although two other employees had originally been the subject of the investigation, ultimately they were not charged.

The conviction and sentence remain subject to appeal.

June 18, 2026June 18, 2026 by Mark Handley

Finland – trial begins in prosecution for exporting trucks and trailers to Russia

Further to our earlier post regarding the prosecution for exporting 135 trucks and 29 trailers from Finland to Russia, it is being reported that the criminal trial has started this week in Helsinki.

The prosecution are seeking a four year jail term for the individual and a fine for the company involved.

It is alleged that in 2022 and 2023 the vehicles were declared as bound for Kazakhstan and Türkiye and only transiting via Russia, but were actually exported to Russia.

May 20, 2026May 20, 2026 by Mark Handley

Finland – investigation into exports of 135 trucks to Russia referred to prosecution and Customs’ updated recent enforcement statistics

Further to our earlier post, Finnish Customs has issued a press release relating to the conclusion of an investigation, that is now being forwarded to the Prosecution District of Eastern Finland for criminal prosecution.

The investigation alleges the prohibited export of 135 trucks and 29 trailers to Russia in breach of the EU’s sanctions. The vehicles are said to be valued at €17.5 million.

The Finnish exporting company declared that the exports were bound for Kazakhstan and Turkey via Russia, but the investigation showed the vehicle remained in Russia.

The same press release gives updated statistics on Finnish Customs’ recent enforcement activity with 58 cases between the start of 2025 and March 2026.

In 2025 the following offences (which are of differing levels of severity) were registered:

26 non-aggravated regulation offences;
17 aggravated regulation offences; and
3 non-aggravated sanctions offences.

Between January and March 2026 Customs registered the following:

2 non-aggravated regulation offences;
6 aggravated regulation offences;
1 non-aggravated sanctions offence; and
3 aggravated sanctions offences.

March 23, 2026March 23, 2026 by Mark Handley

Finland – three investigated for €17m in exports of trucks and trailers to Russia and 43 sanctions investigations by Customs in 2025

Finland’s Customs has issued a press release relating to a criminal investigation into the alleged export of 135 trucks and 29 trailers to Russia from Finland in 2022 and 2023.

It is alleged that the destination of the exports was Kazakhstan or Turkey with Russia only as used for transit, but that the vehicles remained in Russia. The vehicles are valued at €17m.

One individual, the owner of the company, has been detained pending further investigation on suspicion of an aggravated sanctions offence, and two employees are also suspects.

Finland’s Customs does not name the company involved, but press reporting has suggested it is Idän Liikennevälitys IL oy from Lappeenranta.

Customs also state that this case is part of a larger investigation into the export of 558 trucks and 45 trailers to Russia valued at €79m.

The same Customs press release states the during 2025 Customs identified 43 sanctions offences of which 17 were classed as “aggravated”.

February 2, 2026February 2, 2026 by Mark Handley

Finland – two individuals convicted of dual-use exports to Russia

Further to our earlier posts (here and here and here), the remaining two defendants prosecuted for exporting dual-use goods to Russia have been convicted in Finland.

It is being reported that the two Russian nationals, aged 27 and 20, were given suspended jail sentences of one year and four months respectively.

The total value of the goods was around €140,000 and included range finders, laptops, processors and other electronic equipment.

January 2, 2026January 2, 2026 by Mark Handley

Finland – investigation into steel cargo on seized Russian vessel

Finnish Customs are investigating the cargo of structural steel found on board the vessel Fitburg, that has been detained as part of a wider investigation into suspected damage to an undersea cable that runs between Helsinki and Tallinn.

The Russian steel was on board the vessel that departed St Petersburg before the ship was detained. The steel is subject to import prohibitions under the EU’s Russian sanctions.

December 3, 2025December 3, 2025 by Mark Handley

Finland – two individuals charged with sanctioned export offences

Further to our earlier post, it is now being reported that the Finnish authorities have charged the two remaining defendants (the first having plead guilty) on suspicion of exports to Russia of dual-use drones, laptops, computer processors, smartphones and laser rangefinders in breach of the EU’s sanctions.

The value of the exports is said to have been around €140,000, with the exports said to have taken place between 2022 and 2024.

November 28, 2025November 28, 2025 by Mark Handley

Finland – regulator’s audit findings on Nordea Bank’s sanctions compliance

Finland’s Financial Supervisory Authority has published the results of an “audit” on Nordea Bank in relation to the bank’s compliance with the asset freeze and export prohibition aspects of the EU’s Russian sanctions.

The result of the audit was a finding of a “very significant lack of information obtained and retained by the bank”, with a lack of updating on the information that was obtained. In addition, “shortcomings of great significance” were found in relation to customer due diligence, and a lack of adequate assessment of the risk of sanctions circumvention including payments that involved “a high risk country from the perspective of sanctions evasion”.

The announcement from the FIN-FSA does not indicate whether any further regulatory action will be taken.

My thanks to Louis Vargas of the Network for Financial Crime Prevention for informing on this published audit.

November 14, 2025November 14, 2025 by Mark Handley

Finland – €540,000 fine for sanctions compliance failings by online retailer

The Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland has issued a €540,000 fine to online retailer Verkkokauppa.com for failings under the Anti-Money Laundering Act. As one of the compliance requirements under the act is compliance with EU and UN sanctions, some of the compliance failings identified included a lack of sanctions screening for customers, including high risk customers seeking to pay cash.

The full Decision is here.

My thanks to Aleksi Pursiainen for mentioning this case on the most recent monthly sanctions webinar hosted by the Network for Financial Crime Prevention.

October 20, 2025 by Mark Handley

Finland – suspended sentence on conviction for dual-use exports to Russia

It is being reported, that after pleading guilty to charges of exporting dual-use goods to Russian in breach of the EU’s sanctions, a 20-year old student has been given a 14-month suspended sentence.

The student exported dual-use drones, laptops, computer processors, smartphones and laser rangefinders valued at nearly €74,000.

Further to our earlier post, two other accomplices were also arrested in May 2024 and have been investigated for exports valued at another €70,000.

As well as pleading guilty the student is said to have co-operated with the investigation. The outcome relating to the other two defendants is not yet known.