Trade Sanctions – European Sanctions Enforcement

January 27, 2026January 27, 2026 by Mark Handley

France – captain of seized oil tanker detained

After seizing the oil tanker the “Grinch” in international waters last week, the vessel is now anchored off Foss-sur-Mer in the south of France.

The captain of the vessel, an Indian national, has been detained by the French authorities pending further investigations. It is being reported that one part of the investigation being conducted by the Maritime Gendarmerie’s Investigation Unit in Toulon and the Marseille Ship Safety Centre, is charges of failure to fly a valid flag.

Further to our earlier post from October 2025, this is not the first such seizure, with the French authorities seizing the vessel the Boracay off the west coast of France. In that case the vessel was allowed to depart and the captain was released without charge,

January 27, 2026January 27, 2026 by Mark Handley

Germany – investigations into RussPost executives for alleged sanctions breaches

After reporting by BILD where journalists were able to ship (disabled) electronics components from Germany to Russia through RussPost, it is now being reported that prosecutors are seeking to charge a senior manager at RussPost.

The same reporting states that an earlier investigation into another senior manager, named as Dmitri V, had been commenced but then discontinued for a lack of evidence in 2024.

January 27, 2026January 27, 2026 by Mark Handley

Germany – investigation into company alleged to have supplied materials for Russian drones

It is being reported that a mutual legal assistance request has been sent by German authorities to Ukraine investigating press reports of German companies alleged to have supplied materials used in the building of the Shahed drones used by Russian in the conflict with Ukraine.

The German company reported to be the target of the information gathering is Goettle Advanced Products GmbH & Co. KG and possible connections to the Russian manufacturer Composite Products LLC.

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 22, 2026January 22, 2026 by Mark Handley

Cyprus – Securities and Exchange Commission refers sanctions cases to police and Attorney General

As part of a press conference setting out the various strands of work conducted by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, information has been provided on sanctions enforcement:

“What is more, enhanced monitoring was conducted on entities with current or past exposure to persons subject to EU restrictive measures against Russia.

Cases involving potential breaches of sanctions were forwarded to the police and the attorney general for further investigation, with relevant information also shared with the National Sanctions Implementation Unit established under the new sanctions framework that entered into force in July 2025“.

It was also stated that CySEC had imposed total fines and penalties of €2.3m during 2025 but no information is given to indicate that any of this sum related to sanctions fines. The CySEC website itself does not include the details of any fines in 2025.

January 19, 2026January 19, 2026 by Mark Handley

Germany – maritime authorities turn away shadow fleet vessel

Last week the German authorities ordered the vessel Tavian not to enter German territorial waters after inspection of the ship’s papers resulted in a finding that the vessel was sailing under a false flag and with a fake IMO number, and a suspicion that the tanker was being used to ship Russian oil.

The vessel complied with the order and turned around before returning to the North Sea and turning off its transponder.

Other reports include a comment from the Bundespolizei that they could not comment on an “ongoing operational procedure”.

January 19, 2026January 19, 2026 by Mark Handley

Italy – investigation and vessel seizure for alleged cargo of Russian metal

Italy’s Guardia di Finanza and Customs Agency have seized a vessel in the port of Brindisi as part of an investigation into the alleged import of 33,000 tons of ferrous metal in breach of the EU’s Russian sanctions.

Through vessel tracking, including the time and location of the vessel turning off its transponder, the Italian authorities allege that the vessel was loaded at the port of Novorossiysk.

Other reporting has named the vessel as Tuvalu flagged Hizir Reis.

January 15, 2026January 15, 2026 by Mark Handley

Estonia – Tax and Customs Board sanctions enforcement statistics

As of 14 October 2025, the Tax and Customs Board of Estonia has started to publish weekly summaries of its activity, including the enforcement of sanctions at the various customs points with Russia.

Based on these weekly summaries the identification of a sanctions breach by customs officials results in one of four outcomes: 1) the import/export is prevented without further actins being taken; 2) an investigation is commenced; 3) a criminal proceeding for a misdemeanour offence is started; or 4) an on-the-spot fine is issued.

Based on the weekly reports since mid October, the following enforcement actions in categories 1-3 can be identified:

3 investigations started;
10 criminal prosecutions for misdemeanour offences started;
14 on-the-spot fines, imposed, with values of €120, €304, €600, €1600, €1600, €800, €80, €240, €800, €600, €800, €400, €800 and €2000 (total of €10,744).

The offending is dominated by the small-scale carriage of luxury goods and euro notes.

The weekly summaries that include sanctions enforcement can be found here:

In addition, back on 18 August 2025, the Tax and and Customs Board published a half-yearly sanctions enforcement update – not previously reflected here.

This identified the following enforcement statistics:

585,000 identified border crossings
4,300 sanctions violations detected (said to be down 1,000 from the previous year)
on-the-spot fines of c. €93,000 imposed
413 misdemeanour proceedings initiated
19 more serious criminal proceedings initiated

January 12, 2026January 12, 2026 by Mark Handley

United Kingdom – trial scheduled in prosecution for supplying luxury art work to person connected with Russia

Further to our earlier post, it is being reported that the trial in the UK’s criminal prosecution the art gallery Hauser and Wirth, and shipping company, Artay Rauchwerger Solomons, has been scheduled for January 2028.

The companies are charged in relation to allegedly making a luxury good, a work of art, available to a person connected with Russia.

The next hearing is scheduled for 5 May 2026 at which the defendants will be able to enter their pleas.

January 12, 2026January 12, 2026 by Mark Handley

Latvia – prosecution for ammunition export to Russia

Latvia’s Prosecutor’s Office has issued a press release regarding bringing a criminal prosecution before the Riga City Court against an Estonian-Russian dual national for attempting to transport 10,000 items of ammunition into Russia.

The shipment was stopped at the Terekhov Customs crossing. As part of a search of the truck the bullets were found hidden within the driver’s cab of the truck.