The Spanish port authorities have today announced that they have denied port access to a tanker – the Magellan – for allegedly carrying diesel of Russian origin.
The port authorities claim that the vessel had taken on its cargo from another vessel that had, until recently, been Russian flagged.
It was reported today that the German authorities have conducted raids in relation to three companies alleged to have made illegal exports to Russian in breach of EU sanctions. Private residences were also raided.
The authorities have not named the companies, but reports suggest one was Smart Impex GmbH which is alleged to have shipped goods destined for Russia via Turkey.
Further to our earlier post, about an investigation into alleged breaches of the EU’s airspace ban, the Finnish Police have today announced the suspension of the investigation pending any further evidence.
The reason for the investigation was stated to be a lack of evidence as to who had committed the offences.
An individual has today been convicted of exporting €11,000 in physical currency from Germany to Russia in breach of Art 5(i)1 of EU Regulation 833/2014.
The individual asserted that he was carrying the currency for the purposes of receiving dental treatment in Kaliningrad.
The judgment takes the view that the exception permitting some cash to be carried “should … be interpreted narrowly”, and that the Commission’s FAQs are a means of discerning the intention of the legislator.
He was fined €4,500 and the balance of the cash above the €500 threshold was confiscated.
The press in Finland has reported the conviction of two individuals for breaching EU trade sanctions with Russia.
The first individual, a Russian national, was given a three-month suspended prison sentence for seven cross-border trips carrying cash and goods.
The second individual, a Belarusian, was given a four-month suspended sentence for attempting to export €22,000 worth of air-cooled condensers.
It has been reported today that the Finnish authorities are currently undertaking approximately 180 investigations into suspected breaches of the EU’s trade sanctions against Russia.
The Latvian authorities have announced the prosecution of a man for the attempted export of goods to a company in Russia in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
The exports (described as “conditioning equipment”) were stopped by the Customs Service.
The Latvian authorities have announced the conviction of a man on charges of importing goods from Belarus in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
The goods in question were railway sleepers and 8kg of nails.
The fine imposed was €5,000. No custodial sentence was imposed, but the man was banned from conducting any import business from Belarus for a year.
A referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union has revealed a conviction in Germany arising from the importation of timber from Myanmar in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
The defendant was convicted and given a suspended sentence of 19 months in prison and a confiscation order of €3,310,902.98 was imposed as well.
The case has been referred to the CJEU because the defendant argues that the timber in question should properly be seen as having been imported from Taiwan, and not Myanmar, because the timber had been processed in Taiwan.
Update: The CJEU case was registered on 8 February 2023.
Further to our earlier post, a former university professor in Norway has been convicted of breaching Norway’s Iran sanctions.
The man has been sentenced to 8 months in jail.
The conviction relates to sharing technology without a licence with Iranians.
