Estonia and Norway customs control prevent sanctioned goods from entering Russia

16 Oct 2024, 36 mins ago

The ETCB has prevented a significant number of goods subject to sanctions restrictions from reaching Russia. Those goods include batteries for drones, radio receivers and spare parts for vehicles and machinery.

According to the Deputy Director General for Customs at the ETCB, Ursula Riimaa, “The most frequent violations at border crossing points continue to be attempts to take euro banknotes to Russia”.

Article 5i of the EU Council Regulation No 933/2014 of 31 July 2014, concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions in Ukraine (“EU Regulation”), prohibits selling, supplying, transferring or exporting banknotes denominated in any official currency of an EU Member State to Russia or anyone in Russia, or for use in Russia.

The EU Regulation, however, allows “the sale, supply, transfer or export of banknotes denominated in any official currency of a Member State provided that such sale, supply, transfer or export is necessary for: (a)  the personal use of natural persons travelling to Russia or members of their immediate families travelling with them; or (b)  the official purposes of diplomatic missions, consular posts or international organisations in Russia enjoying immunities in accordance with international law”.

Neither the EU Regulation nor any other EU law determines the minimum and/or maximum amount of euros or banknotes denominated in an EU Member State which are allowed for transfer to Russia.

The ETCB’s view is that those crossing a border with Russia should focus on prohibitions rather than exceptions.

It was also reported in October that Norwegian custom authorities confiscated 10 sanctioned goods from persons travelling from Norway to Russia in 2023, and 12 items in the first half of 2024. One item was also confiscated from Russian fishing vessels in 2023-2024.

Gherson lawyers can assist you in assessing your company’s sanctions risk and provide necessary training to your employees. We can also help you develop compliance programmes, including sanctions policies and systems.

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The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

©Gherson 2024