Poland – European Sanctions Enforcement

January 27, 2026January 27, 2026 by Mark Handley

OLAF – investigation relating to the sanctioned export of 766 transport vehicles

The European anti-fraud agency OLAF has issued a press release on an investigation it has coordinated into the export of 766 transport vehicles to Russia despite the exporters claiming they were destined for one of Türkiye, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova.

The investigation first arose after a report by the Polish authorities, with OLAF then tracking each individual vehicle to determine that it had been exported to Russia.

The press release notes that “OLAF’s findings led to criminal investigations in three different Member States”, but no further information is given on which member states or the current progress of those investigations.

The press release also thanks the various countries which were labelled as the destination for the trucks in providing assistance in confirming that the vehicles never arrived.

January 12, 2026January 12, 2026 by Mark Handley

Poland – individual charged for importing inflatable vessel from Belarus

Polish authorities have charged an individual after attempting to import an inflatable vessel into Poland from Belarus.

The individual is a Belarusian national, and the inflatable craft was identified by Polish customs at the Terespol border checkpoint.

January 2, 2026 by Mark Handley

Poland – 5 arrested on suspicion of importing sanctioned Russian and Belarusian timber

Poland’s Customs and Tax Service has conducted raids and arrested five individuals suspected of importing Russian and Belarusian birch plywood under falsified papers to make it appear that the timber was of Kazakh or Turkish origin.

The five individuals have been named as:

Franciszek B. (64 years old, Polish citizen)

Marian K. (48 years old, Polish citizen)

Piotr K. (56 years old, Polish citizen)

Aleksander P. (43 years old, Russian citizen) and

Sergey M. (57 years old, Russian citizen).

The imports are alleged to have taken place between 2022 and 2024.

The investigation was aided by materials from OLAF (the European Anti-Fraud Office) and from the response to a mutual legal assistance request provided by Kazakhstan.

The suspects have all been charged but have been release pending trial.

September 24, 2025September 24, 2025 by Mark Handley

Poland – 20 people detained for alleged luxury car exports to Russia and Belarus

Poland’s Central Bureau of Investigation of the Police has issued a press release relating to the arrest of 20 people for alleged involvement in a scheme to export of approximately 600 luxury cars to Russia and Belarus in breach of the EU’s sanctions.

The scheme is said to have involved a sequence of sales within the EU, followed by sales to customers in third countries such as Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, followed by a further transfer to Belarusia or Russia.

Several of the defendants are being detained in custody while the investigation continues.

More than PLN 10m in bank accounts have been frozen as part of the investigation.

September 22, 2025September 22, 2025 by Mark Handley

Poland – updated statistics on the 42 imposed sanctions fines

With grateful thanks to the Ministry of Finance and the Economy in Poland for the provision of the information, this blog can provide an up-to-date summary of the scale of financial penalties imposed by the Polish authorities in relation to Russian and Belarusian sanctions violations.

These figures relate to the period up to 28 August 2025.

In total the Polish authorities have imposed 42 financial penalties, broken down on the following basis:

24 penalties in relation to breaches of EU Regulation 833/2014, with total fines of PLN 6,850,949 (just over €1.6m);
6 penalties for breaches of EU Regulation 269/2014, with total fines of PLN 911,515 (just over €213,000);
10 penalties for breaches of the Polish Sanctions Act of 13 April 2022, with total fines of PLN 18,886,441 (€4.42m);
1 penalty under EU regulation 765/2006 in relation to Belarus, with a fine of PLN 7,367 (€1,727); and
1 penalty relating to both Regulations 833/2014 and 765/2006, with a fine of PLN 36,272 (€8,506).

This updates the statistics previously published on this blog from July 2024.

It shows that Poland has imposed a 18 fines since that time. Of those 12 were under Regulation 833/2014, four were under Regulation 269/2014, and the two smaller fines relating to Belarus have also been imposed since July 2024.

May 21, 2025May 21, 2025 by Mark Handley

Poland – seizure of 5 tons of aviation tyres bound for Russia/Belarus

Poland’s National Tax Administration has issued a press release, announcing the seizure of 5 tons of aviation tyres.

The discovery was made through a routine inspection of a truck by the Lublin Customs and Tax office.

The declared goods were automobile tyres. The sender of the tyres was an unnamed company in Spain, and the declared recipient was said to be in Azerbaijan.

The goods were detained and criminal proceedings have been instituted.

May 13, 2025May 21, 2025 by Mark Handley

Poland – multiple raids and arrests for suspected import of timber in breach of Russia and Belarus sanctions

Poland’s National Tax Administration yesterday issued a press release detailing raids and arrests in three provinces.

The three arrested individuals have been charged and are in pre-trial detention. They are suspected of importing birch plywood from Belarus and Russia in breach of EU sanctions.

The Tax Administration has conducted a number of similar investigations in recent months, which have not previously been included in this blog:

24 April 2025 – The Pomeranian branch of Poland’s National Tax Administration has conducted raids in Gdynia. Thirty pallets of timber suspected to have been imported from Belarus and Russia were seized.

9 April 2025 – The Pomeranian branch of Poland’s National Tax Administration has conducted inspections of timber purportedly imported from Tunisia at the Baltic Container Terminal in Gdansk, and seized over PLN 1 million in timber on suspicion that it was imported from Belarus and Russia in breach of EU sanctions.

28 February 2025 – The Lublin branch of the National Tax Administration has seized 1800 pallets of plywood suspected of being imported from Belarus and Russia via China and Kazakhstan. The press release adds that 15 sets of proceedings are being prepared as a result of the seizures valued at PLN 3.2m.

November 2024 – raids were conducted in seven provinces in relation to an ongoing investigation into suspected imports of timber from Belarus and Russia in breach of Eu sanctions.

February 28, 2025 by Mark Handley

Poland – 275 ongoing sanctions investigations

It is being reported that the Polish authorities have responded to a press request by confirming that they have 275 sanctions investigations that are ongoing.

No further information was provided on these investigations. It is unclear how many of these relate to Russian sanctions.

November 27, 2024November 28, 2024 by Mark Handley

Poland – German national charged with exporting dual-use goods to Russia

It is being reported that Polish authorities have arrested and charged a German national with exporting dual-use technology to Russia in breach of EU sanctions.

The arrest was in the Lubusz province and relates to the export of machinery which can be used in weapons manufacture. It is also said that the exports were directed at “Russian military plants involved in weapons production”.

The individual is reported to have admitted his guilt.

The press release is here.

July 19, 2024July 19, 2024 by Mark Handley

Poland – investigation and charge in relation to dual-use exports to Iran

It is being reported by Reuters that the Polish state-owned company WSK Poznan is being investigated by the National Prosecutor’s Office and the Internal Security Agency on suspicion of supplying parts to Iranian manufacturer, Motorsazan Company, which were then incorporated into drones used by Russian combat forces in Ukraine.

The National Prosecutor’s Office is also reported to have charged the CEO of the company in relation to the export of dual-use goods.

Another report states that the investigation has been ongoing for two years, and notes that the Polish National Prosecutor has denied evidence that parts were used for drones and stated that the investigation relates more to the sale of fuel pumps to Iran.