The European Union has introduced criminal liability for circumventing sanctions against Russia

 The EU Council has finally approved directives on the rules for prosecuting violations or circumvention of EU sanctions.

It will now be a criminal offense in all EU countries to help circumvent the EU travel ban, trade in sanctioned goods or engage in prohibited financial activities.

Criminal liability will also apply in the event of incitement to or complicity in these crimes, according to a document published on the EU Council website.

The explanatory note states that willful violation of restrictive measures "should result in imprisonment as a maximum penalty."

Also, violation of sanctions can now result in additional fines. A legal entity will be held accountable if a crime is committed by a person who holds a leadership position in the organization. In these cases, companies will be at risk of having their permission to conduct economic activities revoked.

The document will come into force on the 20th day after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. EU member states will have 12 months to incorporate the provisions of the directive into their national legislation.

According to Bloomberg, for the nine months of 2023, the cost of sanctioned technologies received by Russia from the European Union that could be used in the war against Ukraine amounted to 450 million euros. Almost a quarter of the goods came directly from European countries.

Russia could earn more than a billion euros last year by supplying oil refined into fuel for the European Union market, according to a study by the non-profit group Global Witness.

On February 23, the European Union adopted the 13th package of sanctions against Russia, which included 106 individuals and 88 legal entities. Among them are 27 companies that the EU accuses of supporting the military-industrial complex (MIC) of Russia.