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 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.
Further to our earlier post, a Magistrate in Malta has acquitted James Fenech, Bertrand Agius, Konrad Agius, Charles Bugeja, Michael Cauchi and the company Sovereign Charters Ltd of breaching EU sanctions against Libya.
The case related to the use of outboard motor boats to bring private military personnel out of Libya. The allegation was that the vessels were included amongst those products that could not be exported or transferred to Libya.
The court held that the particular vessels included, as identified by their 8-digit Combined Nomenclature Code, were not amongst the categories of vessels prohibited under the EU’s sanctions. Accordingly, the charges were dismissed.
The company accepted a fine of €15,000 for immigration irregularities.
The Norwegian authorities have arrested a Russian for flying a drone within Norwegian airspace in breach of the ban on Russian flights.
The man is reported to be Andrey Yakunin, the son of the former head of the Russian Railways.
The US Department of Justice has announced the multiple charges against individuals and companies relating to an attempt to export US-origin industrial equipment (a jig grinder) with military application to Russia.
The companies charged are CNC Weld (incorporated in Latvia) and BY Trade OU (incorporated in Estonia).
Stanislav Romanyuk is one the individuals. He was arrested in Estonia on 13 June 2022 for extradition to the US.
As part of the same investigation others were arrested in Latvia – see here.
The US Department of Justice has announced the multiple charges against individuals and companies relating to an attempt to export US-origin industrial equipment (a jig grinder) with military application to Russia.
The companies charged are CNC Weld (incorporated in Latvia) and BY Trade OU (incorporated in Estonia).
Janis Uzbalis, Vadims Ananics, Eriks Mamonovs are three of the individuals. They were arrested in Latvia on 18 October 2022 for extradition to the US.
As part of the same investigation others were arrested in Estonia – see here.
The Dutch authorities have announced the arrest of a 55-year old on suspicion of exporting dual-use microchips to Russia in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
Searches were carried out at a number of premises.
The man is alleged to have falsified the end-user information for the exports.
It has been reported today that the Austrian State Protection Director has confirmed that three individuals and seven companies have been prosecuted for non-compliance with Russia sanctions.
No further details were provided.
Further to our earlier post, the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office has issued a press release confirming that Alexander J. has been charged with various breaches of the EU’s sanctions against Iran.
The Iranian company purchasing equipment through Alexander J. is said to be a designated person, while the products themselves are also prohibited from being exported to Iran.
The goods are said to have been for use in Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, and to have been valued at over €1 million.
