The Latvian State Prosecution Service has announced a conviction of a man for importing 13 packages of wooden sleepers and 8kg of nails from Belarus in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
The fine imposed was €6,200. As part of the sentencing the man was prohibited from importing any goods from Belarus for a year.
A co-accused was earlier sentenced to pay a fine of €5,000.
It has been reported today that a prosecution in Malta for allegedly breaching the EU’s sanctions against Russia has ended in acquittal.
The investigation commenced in 2019 after a bank submitted a suspicious activity report.
The transaction at the heart of the case was the export of 142 pallets of ammunition from Russia to Morocco via a Maltese company; Donna Shipping Company Limited.
The company and one of its directors, Karl David Mallia, a qualified accountant were both prosecuted, but not any of the other directors of the company.
The court held that there was insufficient evidence that Mallia had been involved in the particular transaction.
It has been reported today that the Spanish authorities have arrested two individuals, a Russian national and a Ukrainian national, on suspicion of exporting military goods to Russia in breach of EU sanctions.
The investigation was started in 2021 nad has involved a number of raids. The goods in question were exported through third countries but destined for the Russian aeronautical sector.
It has been reported today that a German company from Schleswig-Holstein has been convicted of breaching the EU’s sanctions against Russia for the illegal export of machinery that was used to help build the Kerch bridge.
The equipment was a hydraulic hammer used for driving in the piles for the bridge. The fine was imposed by the District Court in Kiel.
The Swiss authorities have this week provided some statistics on their ongoing sanctions enforcement efforts.
They have reported a total of 100 investigations. Of those:
While most of these relate to Russia, at least two relate to Belarus sanctions.
The majority of the investigations are said to relate to trade sanctions rather than financial sanctions.
The Dutch authorities today announced that they have 45 ongoing criminal investigations into Russian sanctions breaches.
Of these 29 involve violations of import and export sanctions and 16 relate to breaches of financial sanctions.
It has been reported today that the Danish authorities are investigating into possible breaches of the EU’s sanctions against Russia by the insulation maker Rockwool.
The investigation was instigated after media reporting of the use of Rockwool products in Russia between 2015 and 2020.
The Lithuanian authorities are investigating allegations of the import of urea from the Belarus company Grodno Azot (designated under Belarus sanctions).
Searches have been conducted at a number of locations and 3000 tonnes of urea has been seized valued at several million euros.
The imports are alleged to have been conducted by two companies and involved the relabelling of the product as if it had been produced by another supplier and not Grodno Azot.
The Belgian Minister of Finance has issued a statement regarding Belgian efforts to enforce the EU’s sanctions against Russia.
Included, is confirmation that 19 reports have been referred to the public prosecutor’s office, and that a further 15 such other such reports are being prepared.
No further information on the nature of the alleged offending was included.
It has been reported today that the Greek authorities have arrested a Bulgarian national for the purposes of extraditing them to the US on suspicion of breaching US sanctions against Russia.
The exports are said to have been of microchips and one tranche alone to have been valued at $1.7 million.
The name of the individual and the company he traded through have not been released.
