UK imposes its largest penalty ever for Russia sanctions breaches
The UK’s HM Revenue and Customs has imposed a £1.16 million penalty on an unidentified exporter for making goods available to Russia in breach of sanctions, marking the largest compound settlement for a Russia sanctions offence and signalling what is seen as an escalation in British enforcement efforts.
The penalty of £1,160,725.67 was paid in May following violations of The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, according to an HMRC notice. The company was not publicly identified.
‘This is the largest compound settlement HMRC has concluded for a Russia sanctions offence,’ since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine prompted sweeping restrictions, HMRC said. It follows previous HMRC fines that included a £1 million compound settlement in August 2023 and a £217,012.50 penalty in April 2023. By contrast, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation has traditionally issued smaller penalties, the largest being a £465,000 fine in March 2025 against a law firm over payments to designated Russian individuals during its Moscow office wind-down.
The enforcement action comes amid criticism that the UK has been slow to pursue sanctions violations despite implementing comprehensive restrictions.
