In September 2023, the Finnish Customs authorities announced they had 600 ongoing criminal investigations of which 60 were “aggravated”.
As reported in Wirtschaft Woche Sari Knaapi , the Chief Economic Crimes Investigator at Finnish Customs has now given details of the current figures, stating that there are now 700 ongoing investigations, with around 70 that are described as “large, complex cases”.
In a rare example of the enforcement of the travel ban imposed on designated persons, a court in Finland has convicted the Russian national Yan Petrovsky for travelling into Finland under an assumed alias, Voislav Torden, in 2022 and 2023.
Petrovsky was sentenced to 40 days in jail, and ordered to pay a fine of €80.
It has been reported that the Finnish authorities have charged five individuals with sanctions offences.
The allegations relate to the export of drones to Russian in breach of EU sanctions.
The first defendant is Gabriel Temini who is the CEO of the Finnish companies Luminor and Siberica.
Three employees of Siberica have also been charged as well as an employee of a freight forwarding company.
The charges are denied.
Trial is scheduled to commence on 26 January 2024.
It has been reported today that Finnish Customs are preparing to charge six with Russian sanctions offences.
The activities relate to two Finnish companies suspected of exporting microcontrollers and semi-conductors valued at more than €600,000 to Russia, as well as nearly 3,500 drones value at over €2 million.
The investigation is said to have also involved the authorities from the Netherlands, the UK, the US, as well as Europol and Finland’s Security and Intelligence Service.
It was reported today that the Finnish National Enforcement Authority, along with offices from the Eastern Finland Police Department, conducted raids on the property of Igor Kasaev, a designated person under the EU’s Russian sanctions, on the island of Kotasaari.
As part of the ongoing reporting of an investigation into the sale of a tugboat from Finland to Russia in breach of EU sanctions, it was reported today that the Finnish authorities are have been undertaking over 600 investigations into potential sanctions breaches since February 2022.
Sixty of these are said to be “aggravated” indicating that they are of a more serious, or high value, nature.
It was reported today that the Finnish Central Criminal Police are investigating a Finnish company for exports to Russia in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
The investigation was commenced in 2019, with the offences alleged to have taken place between 2016 and 2020.
The exports were of technology destined for use by arms manufacturers in Russia. It is also alleged that the Finnish company was controlled, albeit not owned, by a designated person under the EU’s Russian sanctions.
Further to our earlier post, about an investigation into alleged breaches of the EU’s airspace ban, the Finnish Police have today announced the suspension of the investigation pending any further evidence.
The reason for the investigation was stated to be a lack of evidence as to who had committed the offences.
The press in Finland has reported the conviction of two individuals for breaching EU trade sanctions with Russia.
The first individual, a Russian national, was given a three-month suspended prison sentence for seven cross-border trips carrying cash and goods.
The second individual, a Belarusian, was given a four-month suspended sentence for attempting to export €22,000 worth of air-cooled condensers.
It has been reported today that the Finnish authorities are currently undertaking approximately 180 investigations into suspected breaches of the EU’s trade sanctions against Russia.
