More than 600 criminal proceedings are currently active in Latvia for violations of sanctions imposed on Russia, said Paulis Iljenkovs, Deputy Head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) for sanctions, in an interview on Latvian Television.

All of these cases have been launched since 2022.

Iljenkovs noted that very few involve serious violations of sanctions. Information on some of these cases has been forwarded to the investigative authorities. In such cases, the FIU believes convictions leading to custodial sentences are warranted, he said.

He explained that Latvia’s overall compliance with sanctions against Russia is positive, emphasizing that Latvia is certainly not among the weakest points in Europe or globally in this regard.

Iljenkovs pointed out that the weakest aspect of the EU sanctions regime – despite its overall strength and effectiveness – is that each member state enforces the sanctions “in its own way.” He noted that other countries tend to have a more “relaxed” approach compared to Latvia.

Commenting on the sanctions imposed by the United States on Rosneft and Lukoil, the two largest Russian oil companies, Iljenkovs said that Latvia has been little affected.

“For example, Rosneft has been under sanctions in Latvia since 2022, so this does not change anything for us,” he said.

Lukoil’s business interests in Latvia, meanwhile, were relatively small compared to those in other EU Member States – for instance, in one Member State, Lukoil operated 460 petrol stations in 2025.

According to Iljenkovs, data show that Russia is currently overpaying sixfold for war-related goods.

Source: BNS

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