On 12 April 2024, the European Council adopted a law covering EU-wide minimum rules for the prosecution of violation or circumvention of EU sanctions in Member States. Certain actions will now be considered criminal offences in all Member States, for example helping to bypass a travel ban, trading in sanctioned goods or performing prohibited financial activities. Inciting, aiding and abetting these offences can also be penalised.
Member States must ensure that violating EU sanctions is punishable by effective and proportionate criminal penalties, which vary depending on the offence. However, intentional violation of sanctions must give rise to a prison sentence as the maximum penalty. Those who have violated EU restrictive measures may additionally be subject to fines.
Legal persons (i.e. companies) can also be held liable when an offence has been committed by a person with a leading position in the organisation. In such cases, sanctions may include the disqualification of business activities and the withdrawal of permits and authorisations to pursue economic activities.
Note that the directive will enter into force on the 20th day following publication in the Official Journal of the EU. Member States will have 12 months to incorporate the provisions of the directive into their national legislation.
In this context, we support you with the strategic definition of the derived requirements and the operational implementation.
When should you start thinking about export controls and sanctions?
What are the goals of export control and sanctions management?
Basically, all types of economic operator are affected, especially in international trade. Whether a permit is required depends in particular on the following four questions:
Economic operators should continuously check what effects the existing sanctions have on their business relationships, as misconduct will be punished with severe sanctions.
Depending on the company structure, it may be that in addition to the Swiss export control regulations, other regulations – such as those of the EU, the USA or other third countries – also must be taken into account.
Our services and how we can support you:
This blog post reflects the status as of 12 April 2024. We would like to point out that the political situation is extremely dynamic and there may be short-term changes in the law.