In UK, 127 companies admit to violating sanctions against Russia

DW reports, citing the Financial Times.

British companies are admitting to violating the sanctions regime against Russia, hoping for a mitigation of penalties from the state, the newspaper writes. According to journalists citing the UK Ministry of Finance, as of May 17, 127 companies have voluntarily admitted to violating sanctions.

The publication emphasizes that the Ministry of Finance in London is ready to mitigate the punishment for those companies that have admitted to violations and cooperate in the investigation. The relevant department of the ministry, which is responsible for implementing penalties, does not want to "unreasonably punish companies for unintentional mistakes," the FT writes. A warning or a fine may be issued as a penalty for a sanctions violation, with no upper limit on the fine.

• On August 8, the UK government imposed new sanctions against 22 individuals and entities that support Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and against three companies that supply electronics for Russian military equipment.
• On September 29, the UK government imposed sanctions on 11 new individuals in response to Russia's attempts to use fake elections to legitimize its illegal control over parts of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk regions and Crimea, which are part of Ukraine's sovereign territory.