In Latvia, a businessman was fined for attempting to circumvent EU sanctions
The Riga City Court in Latvia fined a businessman 10,140 euros for attempting to violate European Union sanctions against Russia.
This was reported by Delfi.
This penalty was agreed upon between the prosecutor’s office and the defendant, and the court approved it.
The prosecutor also concluded agreements on the application of coercive measures against two legal entities:
- against the company in whose interest the attempt to violate EU sanctions was made—it has been liquidated;
- against another company, due to which the defendant committed the crime—a fine of 17,940 euros was imposed on it.
The defendant is a member of the board of one of the companies. Acting on behalf of a firm registered in Russia, he attempted to export Buchholz gas relays and control relays designed to protect transformers, with a total value of 161,352 euros, to Russia.
In January 2023, the defendant contacted a customs brokerage firm requesting that it process the export customs procedure for these relays.
The company accepted the order and, relying on the documents received from the client, prepared and submitted an export declaration to the customs office of the Riga Free Port without verifying whether the relays were subject to sanctions.
Latvia has expanded sanctions to include relatives of high-ranking Russian officials.
The European Union may impose sanctions against individuals and companies suspected of facilitating the transport of grain exported from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to the port of Haifa (Israel).
As a reminder, the European Union has expanded sanctions against Belarus as part of a new, 20th package of restrictions targeting Russia and its allies. The decision affects Belarus’s defense sector, as well as entities that, according to the EU, support Russia’s war against Ukraine. For the first time, a Chinese organization linked to Belarusian military production has also been added to the list.
On April 23, EU member states approved the 20th package of sanctions against Russia, which imposes restrictions on 46 vessels of the “shadow fleet” and 60 entities supporting the Russian military-industrial complex. The new measures include stricter export restrictions on dual-use goods and sanctions against 20 credit and financial institutions.
