Latvia: More than 250 criminal cases over sanctions violations

Latvia’s State Revenue Service (VID) has stopped over 5,000 shipments of goods for possible violation of EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus, LSM reports. VID has initiated more than 250 criminal cases over sanctions violations, including 114 in 2022 and 144 in 2023. Raimonds Zukuls, director of VID’s customs administration, said that most of the stopped export shipments were electrical goods, car parts, and luxury items, while most of the stopped imports were timber products, fuel, fodder, and metal products. Meanwhile, the volume of smuggling has declined, he noted.