European Commission proposes to criminalize circumvention of sanctions

The European Commission has officially proposed to treat the circumvention of the imposed sanctions as a crime at the level of the European Union, the document says.

The updated list of EU criminal offenses may include the following provisions:

• participation in activities aimed at direct or indirect circumvention of restrictive measures, including by hiding assets;
• Refusal to freeze funds owned or controlled by a particular individual or entity;
• import or export of goods subject to trade bans.

It is reported that this measure "will facilitate the investigation, prosecution and punishment of such violations in all member states."