Further to our earlier post relating to a fine imposed on the Dutch airline KLM, after an appeal by the Dutch prosecutors the fine has been raised to €60,000 from 40,000 with half suspended for 2 years.
UK – three convicted of exporting military goods to Iran
Following a trial at Southwark Crown Court three individuals have been convicted of exporting parts for military aircraft to Iran in breach of sanctions.
Alexander George was given a custodial sentence of 2 and a half years, while Paul Attwater and Iris Attwater were sentenced to suspended sixth months in prison.
The shipments were sent in the name of a BVI company, via, Netherlands, Malaysia and Dubai, but were destined for Iran.
Netherlands – company convicted of breach of Russian sanctions
The District Court of Amsterdam has convicted a company on multiple charges of exporting military goods for a Russian end user. The intended Russian recipient of the exports was named as JSC Global Security, but the name of the convicted Dutch company was anonymised.
The goods (mostly bullet proof vests and other military equipment) were stopped at Schiphol airport and had been brought from South Africa.
The company was fined €30,000 (half suspended for 2 years).
Austrian military goods enforcement (2008-2017)
The Austrian Ministry of Justice has published statistics showing its enforcement between 2008 and 2017 of the Austrian “War Materials Law”.
| Year | Investigations | Prosecutions | Penalty Notices | Convictions |
| 2008 |
15 |
2 | 0 |
2 |
| 2009 |
19 |
2 | 0 |
0 |
| 2010 |
23 |
6 | 0 |
3 |
| 2011 |
18 |
4 | 0 |
2 |
| 2012 |
21 |
3 | 2 |
1 |
| 2013 |
22 |
7 | 1 |
3 |
| 2014 |
16 |
5 | 1 |
1 |
| 2015 |
30 |
5 | 2 |
4 |
| 2016 |
30 |
7 | 0 |
3 |
| 2017 |
29 |
9 | 1 |
6 |
UK – company pleads guilty to exporting dual-use goods
The UK’s HMRC has prosecuted Carbosynth Limited to the unlicenced export of various chemicals on the dual-use and military lists to Japan, India, South Korea, Israel, the USA, Germany and Canada.
The company was fined £4,269.96.
UK – HMRC fines company £109,312.50
It was announced today by HMRC that it had fined an unnamed UK exporter £109,312.50 for the unlicensed exports of military goods.
No further information was published.
Germany – company managers charged over suspected weapons exports
Prosecutors in Kiel, northern Germany, have charged five managers of the arms manufacturer Sig Sauer on suspicion of the unlicensed export of arms to Colombia.
The charges arise out of the export of 36,000 pistols to Colombian police, exported via a US subsidiary.
Reports state that the investigation started in 2014. Prosecutors are seeking custodial sentences and a corporate fine of €12 million.
Netherlands – criminal fine imposed for breach of Russian sanctions
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service has obtained a criminal fine of €50,000 against an unnamed Dutch freight solutions company.
The company had sought to ship radar equipment for Sukhoi jet fighters from Malaysia to Russia. The consignment was intercepted at Schiphol Airport. The sale was in breach of both European export controls, as the products were included on the EU’s Military List, and in breach of Russian sanctions which would have prohibited the granting of an export licence.
No licence had been applied for.
An individual was acquitted of a related offence.
Italy – sentences for arms exports to Iran and Libya
It has been reported today that a plea deal has been reached for the final two defendants in the Italian prosecution of arms exports to Libya and Iran in breach of EU sanctions and export controls.
Mario Di Leva negotiated 3 years and 8 months of imprisonment and a fine of €8000, and for Annamaria Fontana the sentence was 3 years and 6 months and a fine of €7000.
See our earlier post for the plea deal for the first defendant.
Italy – two year sentence for arms exports to Libya and Iran
As part of the ongoing prosecution of three Italian nationals for arms exports to Libya and Iran in breach of EU sanctions, it has been reported today that one of the defendants, Andrea Pardi, has pled guilty in return for a two-year custodial sentence.
The trial of the remaining defendants is due to start in June 2017.