NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Sebastiaan Bennink, Daniel Webb, Charlotte Loomans and Siqi Zhao, Bennink Dunin-Wasowicz
a community service order of 240 hours or, alterna - tively, 120 days’ imprisonment. • 28 November 2024 Amsterdam Case (ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2025:4195) – the District Court of Amsterdam convicted a company for provid - ing goods and services related to the construction of the Crimean Bridge. The sanctions violation concerned Council Regulation (EU) No 692/2014 of 23 June 2014, which imposes restrictions on the import of goods originating in Crimea or Sevas - topol into the EU, in response to the illegal annexa - tion of Crimea and Sevastopol. The court imposed a fine of EUR120,000 on the company. On 19 June 2025, the court also ordered the confiscation of EUR1,013,956, representing the gross revenue derived from the sale of goods and provision of services in breach of the sanctions. • 20 May 2025 The Hague Case (ECLI:NL:GHDHA:2025:945) – the Court of Appeal in The Hague ruled that the suspect, as the de facto manager of a company, is criminally liable for establishing and executing a scheme to export dual-use electronic goods, as well as goods that could contribute to military reinforcement, to companies established in Russia, primarily via the Maldives, in violation of EU sanctions. The sen - tence imposed was 18 months’ imprisonment and (ECLI:NL:RBROT:2025:8322) – the District Court of Rotterdam convicted an individual for supplying controlled information from semiconductor com - panies ASML and NXP to Russia, and for providing technical assistance to individuals in Russia. The court imposed a prison sentence of three years, with a deduction for the time the defendant spent in custody and pre-trial detention prior to the con - viction. • November 2025 Damen Shipyards Case – the Dutch Public Prosecution Service started proceed - ings against Damen Shipyards for potentially violat - ing the Sanctions Act 1977 by exporting restricted goods to Russia in 2022. This is the first case to involve a company in the defence industry being prosecuted for an alleged breach of sanctions. If the company is convicted, it could be restricted from entering into public contracts, in addition to fines being imposed and imprisonment for its the forfeiture of the seized items. • 10 July 2025 Rotterdam Case
directors. Shortly after the beginning of the sanc - tions violation trial, the home house of a former Damen CEO was raided by the FIOD. • May 2026 Stark Industries Solutions – the FIOD arrested two individuals investigated of violat - ing the Sanctions Act 1977 by indirectly making economic resources available to EU-sanctioned entities. The investigation traces back to Stark Industries, a web-hosting company established in February 2022 and sanctioned by the EU in May 2025. Around the time of designation, much of the sanctioned company’s technical infrastructure was transferred to a newly incorporated Dutch compa - ny, WorkTitans, which the FIOD found to be operat - ing as a cover for the sanctioned entity, with a second Dutch company, Mirhosting, providing the internet connectivity for the first’s servers. Danish authorities allege that WorkTitans has been linked to attacks by the pro-Russian hacktivist group NoName057 (16), known for distributed denial-of- service (DDoS) attacks. 2.2.5 Mitigation EU Directive 2024/1226, as implemented in the Neth - erlands, provides that when an offender supplies the competent authorities with information they would not otherwise have been able to obtain, assists in identify- ing or bringing other offenders to justice, or helps to gather evidence, such co-operation shall be consid - ered a mitigating circumstance. The Ministry of Justice and Security clarified that Dutch judges already have the discretion to consider all relevant mitigating factors in criminal proceedings, including those explicitly referenced in the Directive. The OM provides further measures through the Guide - lines on Self-reporting, Co-operation and Self-inves - tigation ( de aanwijzing zelfmelden , medewerking en zelfonderzoek ). Under these guidelines, companies that voluntarily, fully and promptly report potential criminal offences and provide full co-operation dur - ing the ensuing criminal investigation may be eligible for a reduction of up to 50% on the total fine that the OM would otherwise impose if such self-reporting or co-operation did not occur.
212 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook