Further to our earlier post regarding the Belgian seizure of the tanker, the Ethera, it is now being reported that 45 infractions have been identified in relation to the flag status and condition of the vessel.
It is also being reported that these infractions will need to be rectified before the vessel will be released and that a €10m payment will need to be made. Different reports (here, here and here) describe this payment as a bond, a bail payment, or a fine.
German Customs has announced the result in a criminal prosecution of two individuals charged with exporting 111 luxury cars to Russia in breach of EU sanctions.
See our earlier post relating to the raids conducted in 2024.
The vehicles were armored and classified as luxury under the EU sanctions.
One defendant pleaded guilty ahead of the trial, Inna W, and was given a 2-year suspended sentence. The main defendant, Andreas M, pleaded guilty mid way through the trial. He was given a six year jail term and has been in detention since his arrest in November 2024.
The defendants had further plans for the export of another 400 cars valued at €40m.
The evidence indicated an extensive procurement network of shell companies for purchasing the vehicles before export. Customers for the vehicles included various Russian state agencies and state-owned corporations.
The sentence included the confiscation of “approximately €20m” as the proceeds of crime said to be from the individuals and the companies involved.
On Saturday night a combined operation of the Belgian and French military (see here and here) saw the seizure of the sanctioned “shadow fleet” tanker the Ethera in the North Sea.
The tanker has since been brought to Zeebrugge .
It is being reported that a criminal investigation has been opened, and it is alleged that the vessel was falsely claiming to have a Guinea flag.
The vessel’s captain, reported as a Russian national, has been questioned.
It is being reported that the Portuguese Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened 26 criminal investigations into possible Russian sanctions breaches since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
No further information is provided as to the nature of the alleged offending or the current state of progress of those investigations.
It is also reported that the Security Intelligence Service (SIS) has “been monitoring and assessing presence in Portugal of elements connected, directly or indirectly with Vladimir Putin’s regime”.
In oral evidence given yesterday to the UK Parliament’s Business and Trade Subcommittee on Economic Security and Export Controls, the Minister for Trade stated (at around 16:18 in the video) in relation to the enforcement efforts at the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation:
“We have got about five cases which are quite close to conclusion and could lead to substantial measures being taken. … Significant numbers of cases have been either closed because there is nothing to pursue, or have been referred directly to HMRC or soe other government departments to be able to take further action. … I think we have got pretty effective enforcement of our sanctions regime. I would argue that its more effective than any other country that I have yet seen. …
We’ve had 185 potential breaches that were reported, 5 as I say are at a late stage, 117 closed, 57 reported to HMRC“.
HMRC gave evidence that in 2025 it had had 42 referrals from OTSI, of which 19 are still under review, 8 concluded with no further action taken, 9 cases were linked to pre-existing HMRC investigations, 1 case was referred to the National Crime Agency, and 5 cases that were subject to a “de-confliction” process between OTSI and HMRC to work through enforcement responsibility.
HMRC also stated that it currently had 21 live criminal investigations for export control offences (note that as per an earlier previous post HMRC very recently stated it had 51 investigations in 2024/2025).
Further to our post from last week regarding the prosecution of a Russian national in Belgium, for Russian sanctions breaches, it is now being reported that the prosecution is targeting three individuals.
The second suspect is the son of Viktor Labin (the first defendant). He is said to be currently living in Russia and the subject of an international arrest warrant.
The third suspect is currently out in bail.
The dual-use goods said to have been exported to Russia include iron, alumina, yttrium oxide, and explosive propagation detectors.
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.
Further to our earlier post on the French seizure of the “shadow fleet” tanker “Boracay” off western France in September 2025, it is now being reported that the trial of the captain is due to commence on Monday.
The trial is taking place in absentia, with the captain Chen Zhangjie – a Chinese national – not attending the trial in the town of Brest.
The charges allege that the Captain refused to comply with a lawful order from the French Navy to allow the inspection of the vessel.
Mr Zhangjie is represented in the trial, and it is being reported that the defence will include arguments that French law and French jurisdiction do not apply.
Press reporting of a civil dispute between Sweden’s SEB Bank and certain Russian customers associated with Olga Pavlova, the Vice-Chair of Gazprom, and relating to attempts to transfer SEK 60 million, has revealed that the same transfers had been the subject of now-concluded a preliminary criminal investigation in Sweden.
It is unclear when the investigation took place, or the basis for the conclusion that no crime had been committed.
It is being reported that the Bulgarian authorities have approved the extradition of Sergey Ivin who was arrested at Sofia Airport in October 2025.
Extradition has been sought following an indictment that he was involved in the sale of sanctioned metallurgical products between 2017 and 2021 valued at US$350 million.
Mr Ivin has denied the charges.
The same report notes that a second extradition request in the same case, for Oleg Olshansky, is still being considered in the Bulgarian courts.
