LATVIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Dr. iur. Viktorija Jarkina-Toča and Alisa Leškovica, RockBridge Legal
Combating Economic Crimes Detecting sanctions violations, combating tax evasion and combating money laundering remained priority areas of activity in 2026. 1. Criminal proceedings for sanction violations In 2026, the criminal proceedings under the jurisdic - tion of the Tax and Customs Police regarding poten - tial violations of EU-imposed sanctions constituted a significant portion of the agency’s overall workload. Considering the police workload and Latvia’s priori - ties, it can be confidently stated that combating EU violations is one of the key issues in Latvia’s criminal proceedings in 2026. Since 2022, the Tax and Customs Police have initi - ated 637 criminal proceedings for violations of EU- imposed sanctions under Article 84 of the Criminal Law, of which 32 have been referred for prosecution. Significantly, Latvian law enforcement agencies base their opinions on the compliance of goods with the specified customs code, namely whether the goods are subject to sanctions, on the assessment provid - ed by Latvian customs. In practice, there have been cases where, during the defence, it was proven that Latvian customs had incorrectly identified the code, resulting in the termination of the criminal proceed - ings. In conjunction with criminal proceedings concerning the circumvention of sanctions, related proceedings regarding property and the application of coercive measures against legal entities may also occur simul - taneously. Currently, many special proceedings are pending in Latvian courts initiated by the Tax and Customs Police regarding property related to criminal offences (goods subject to sanctions). In Latvia, the process concerning property obtained through criminal means or property related to a crime is a distinct type of criminal proceeding during which the origin of the property or its connection to the crime (eg, sanctioned goods) and the possibility of confiscation are determined, applying the standard of preponderance of evidence and requiring the owner
to prove its lawful origin. In this special process, no determination is made regarding the person’s guilt, but solely concerning the property. The “preponder - ance of evidence” standard is applied (that the prop - erty is likely of criminal origin), which is lower than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard. The person in possession of the property must prove its lawful origin or that the property is not connected to a crime (eg, not subject to sanctions). This process can be pursued independently of the outcome of the underlying criminal case on sanc - tions violations or whether a specific person is held criminally liable. In 2025-2026, in sanctions violation criminal cases, processes concerning property related to a crime became a pressing issue. In the majority of these special proceedings, goods have been confiscated in favour of the Latvian state. However, there are also cases where it has been proven that Latvian customs either made a mistake in codifying goods or there are reasonable doubts. 2. Administrative liability for sanction violations Alongside criminal proceedings, administrative offence proceedings concerning violations of inter - national and EU sanctions now constitute a significant and growing part of sanctions enforcement practice in Latvia. Until recently, Latvia followed a particularly strict, effectively zero-tolerance approach. Persons violating sanctions were subjected to criminal liability irrespec - tive of the seriousness of the conduct or the value of the goods involved. This approach changed following legislative amendments that entered into force on 10 June 2025. The amendments introduced a clearer dis - tinction between criminal offences and administrative violations based primarily on the value and nature of the sanctioned goods or services involved. Criminal liability generally applies where the value of the sanctioned goods or services reaches or exceeds EUR10,000 and the person purchases, sells or trans - ports the goods across the Latvian border, provides brokerage services, technical assistance or other related services, or otherwise participates in prohib - ited activities involving such goods or services.
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