In Latvia, more than 600 criminal cases are actively underway regarding violations of sanctions imposed against Russia, said Paulis Ilienkov, Deputy Head of the Financial Intelligence Service (FIS) on sanctions issues, in an interview with the Latvian television program "Morning Panorama," LETA reports.
All these cases were initiated after 2022.
According to Ilienkov, there are few cases of gross violations of sanctions. Information about some of them has been forwarded to the investigative authorities. In these cases, in the opinion of the Financial Intelligence Service (FIS), a guilty verdict with imprisonment should follow, he noted.
He explained that overall compliance with sanctions against Russia in Latvia is assessed positively, and Latvia is certainly not a weak link either in Europe or in the world on this issue.
Ilienkov pointed out that the weak point of the European Union's sanctions policy, despite its strength and effectiveness, is the different approaches of countries: each interprets and applies sanctions in its own way. In his assessment, in other countries this approach is more "relaxed" compared to Latvia.
Commenting on the U.S. sanctions against the two largest Russian oil companies — Rosneft and Lukoil, Ilienkov stated that this affects Latvia to a negligible extent.
For example, Rosneft has been considered a subject of sanctions in Latvia since 2022, so "in real life, this changes nothing for us," noted Ilienkov.
As for Lukoil, its business interests in Latvia were relatively small compared to other EU countries. For instance, in one EU member state, Lukoil had 460 retail gas stations in 2025.
According to Ilienkov, the available data shows that Russia is currently overpaying six times for goods that can be used for military purposes.
As previously reported, at the end of October, EU member states approved the 19th package of sanctions against Russia, targeting key sectors such as energy, finance, the military-industrial complex, special economic zones, as well as individuals supporting the war unleashed by Russia and facilitating profit extraction from it.
In turn, the U.S. decided in October to impose sanctions against the two largest Russian oil companies — Rosneft and Lukoil — due to Russia's refusal to cease its war against Ukraine.
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