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).
It has been reported that the Hamburg Prosecutor has commenced investigations into exports of titanium by Hansa Heavy Lift GmbH and Heinz Corleis KG.
The shipments are alleged to have been made to Crimea in breach of EU sanctions, although the original destination for the shipments was the port of Kavkaz in the Kerch Strait.
Further to our earlier post about the Dutch authorities investigating two companies for allegedly breaching Crimean sanctions by shipping goods for the construction of the Kerch Bridge, it has now been reported that the investigation currently has been extended to seven companies.
The Diesoko Group, a Dutch engineering company, has confirmed that it is one of the companies under investigation.
The Norwegian Foreign Ministry has confirmed that an investigation has been commenced into alleged exports of titanium ore to Crimea by the Norwegian company Titania Kronos.
The allegation relates to exports to Russia onboard to HHL Mississippi which were then directed to Crimea.
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.
It has been reported that the Dutch International Development minister has ordered an investigation into the alleged involvement of two Dutch companies, Dematec Equipment and Biljard Hydrauliek, in providing equipment for the building of the Kerch Strait Bridge designed to join Russia and Crimea.
The allegations, if proven, would be a breach of the EU’s Crimean sanctions.
The Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office has announced that the Lithuanian Financial Crime Investigation Service has opened an investigation into alleged breaches of the EU’s Crimean sanctions by three different enterprises:
a) two Lithuanian companies: BT Invest, and Hanner Group OÜ; and
b) one Crimean company owned by a Lithuanian: Pluošto Linija LLC.
It is understood that the allegation relate to investments and business dealings by Lithuanian nationals in Crimean companies and property developments in breach of the EU’s sanctions against Crimea.
The Italian Financial Police have confiscated wines imported into Italy from Crimea in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
The confiscation took place at the wine fair, Vinitaly, and the wines from Crimea were part of the Russian exhibits. Agricultural products from Crimea are prohibited from import into the EU under the EU’s sanctions.
