Poland – European Sanctions Enforcement

July 20, 2026July 20, 2026 by Mark Handley

Poland – investigation into timber imports instigated by the EPPO

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has issued a press release relating to an investigation in Poland into suspected Russian sanctions breaches.

The Municipal Police Headquarters in Katowice and the Silesian Customs and Tax Office – Częstochowa Branch, have responded to a request for assistance from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in conducting an investigation related to customs and VAT fraud, as well as sanctions breaches, arising from the importation of birch wood into Poland between October 2023 and April 2025.

The company being investigated is alleged to have falsely declared the origin of the timber as Kazakhstan, when it is alleged to have actually originated from Russia.

June 15, 2026June 15, 2026 by Mark Handley

Poland – sanctions enforcement statistics with nearly 2500 cases registered

A lengthy article in the Belarusian Investigative Center on alleged sanctions circumvention regarding Belarusian wood pellets, includes data obtained from the Polish Prosecutor’s office on sanctions enforcement:

187 criminal cases were pending as of mid-2026 for circumvention of sanctions against Belarus and Russia (see our earlier post from May 2026 where the figure was 191);
nearly 2,500 sanctions cases have been registered;
85% of these 2500 cases, or over 2100, concerned Belarus; and
At least 91 criminal proceedings were specifically related to wood-processing products.

June 10, 2026June 10, 2026 by Mark Handley

Poland – individual fined c. €4.7m for sanctioned luxury car exports to Russia

Poland’s National Tax Administration has issued a press release confirming the imposition of a PLN 20,000,000 (c. €4.7m) fine on an unnamed entrepreneur.

This is separate from another fine of the same amount that was imposed in April on a company for luxury car exports.

The entrepreneur exported 177 cars and one motorbike between January and June 2023 each valued at over €50,000 in breach of the EU’s prohibition against the export of luxury goods to Russia with a total value of over €19m.

My thanks to Dr Marcin Lukowski for pointing me to the announcement.

June 10, 2026June 10, 2026 by Mark Handley

Poland – two charged with sanctioned exports of dual-use goods to Russia

Poland’s ABW (Agency for Internal Security) has issued a press release related to the charging of two individuals, Eduard K. and Krzysztof J., on suspicion of exporting dual use goods to Russia in breach of the EU’s sanctions.

The equipment was a CNC machine tool and a thermal chamber for metalworking. The equipment was purchased in Germany and transported to Poland before being shipped to Turkey for further export into Russia.

The goods were stopped from being exported and the two suspects have been detained since September last year.

The press release notes the availability of a sentence of not less than three years as well as confiscations.

June 1, 2026June 1, 2026 by Mark Handley

Poland – prosecution of group exporting goods to Belarus

It is being reported (here and here) that the Polish authorities have arrested and imposed bail and travel restrictions on several members of a ring suspected of exports of sanctioned goods to Belarus.

Also arrested, and a search conducted at her house, was a Polish Customs official who is alleged to have taken bribes in return for allowing goods to be exported without inspections.

The exporters are said to have used two sets of paperwork, with Polish Customs shown export documents for food and beverage products, and Belarusian customs shown accurate paperwork for the sanctioned spare parts and other engineering products.

The exports are said to have taken placed between June 2025 and April 2026 using the Kukuryki-Kazlovichy border crossing.

May 8, 2026May 8, 2026 by Mark Handley

Poland – publication of sanctions enforcement statistics including 138 fines imposed

The government of Poland has issued a press release detailing its efforts to date on the enforcement of the EU’s sanctions against Russia and Belarus.

My thanks to Dr Marcin Lukowski for drawing this release to the blog’s attention.

To date Poland has:

imposed fines of PLN 74.4m (c. €18m) across 138 separate fining decisions; and
in the first quarter of 2026 there are:
- 191 pending cases;
- 122 cases where an individual has been identified as a suspect (“charged” in Polish terminology);
- 13 indictments filed; and
- 10 final judgments.

The government also states that it has frozen €546.2m in assets, and that nearly 56% of all EU customs alerts originate from Poland.

As per our earlier post from September 2025 – at that stage Poland had imposed 42 fines for a total of PLN 26.6m or €6.2m, meaning the number of fines, and the value of fines imposed, has nearly tripled since September last year.

April 21, 2026April 21, 2026 by Mark Handley

Poland – company exporting luxury cars to Russia fined c. €4.7m

Poland’s National Tax Administration has fined a company based in Małopolska and run by Belarusian citizens PLN 20,000,000 – or approximately €4,726,000. The fine is administrative, and was the maximum allowable fine.

The company had exported over 100 luxury cars to Russia via Lithuania and Belarus in breach of EU sanctions.

The total value of the cars is said to have been PLN 49m. The press release states that “The evidence gathered indicates that the company’s managers acted knowingly and deliberately participated in the circumvention of sanctions”.

The press release does not mention if proceedings are also being brought against the individuals involved or if the company will be subject to a confiscation of its profits.

February 25, 2026February 25, 2026 by Mark Handley

Poland – six individuals charged with exporting drone-making machinery to Russia

Poland’s Internal Security Agency has issued a press release announcing that six individuals have been charged on suspicion of exporting machinery for the manufacture of drones to Russia, via Belarus, in breach of the EU’s sanctions.

The charges follow raids conducted on 18 February.

The individuals include 4 Belarus nationals and two Poles, and the machinery is described as a device for the production of integrated circuits.

Three of the suspects have been ordered to remain in custody, while the other three were released on bail subject to supervision and a ban on leaving Poland.

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.