PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Bárbara Marinho e Pinto, Ana Reis Mota, Lua Mota Santos and Jéssica Dinis Bento, Rogério Alves & Associados
sion and reporting procedure in Articles 43, 44 and 47, while sector-specific notices from the Bank of Portu - gal and the Authority for Food and Economic Safety further detail and reinforce these duties, including the obligations to communicate and denounce under Arti - cles 23 and 24 of Law 97/2017 and to act as interlocu - tors with the national competent authorities. 3. Recent and Future Legal Developments 3.1 Significant Court Decisions or Legal Developments In the past three years, notable sanctions related developments in Portugal have included: • the first publicly reported appellate decisions in criminal cases on alleged breaches of EU Rus - sia sanctions, namely the judgments of the Lisbon Court of Appeal of 24 May 2023 (Case 472/22.2TELSB A.L1 3) and 6 February 2025 (Case 102/23.5TELSB B.L1 3), which confirm that sus - pected violations of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 are being investigated and assessed as the crime of violation of a restrictive measure under Portuguese law; • the adoption of Law No 72/2025, transposing Directive (EU) 2024/1226 and strengthening the criminal framework for enforcing EU restrictive measures by refining offences, penalties and corporate liability in line with the EU harmonised regime; and • the progressive reinforcement of the sanctions compliance and enforcement framework through enhanced reporting duties, clearer supervisory expectations and closer co-ordination between financial supervisors, administrative authorities and criminal enforcement bodies, as reflected in recent amendments to the national regime and sectoral instruments issued by the Bank of Portugal and the Authority for Food and Economic Safety. 3.2 Future Developments The main “forward-looking” change has in effect already occurred: Law 72/2025 of 23 December, substantially strengthens the criminal framework for enforcing EU restrictive measures in Portugal, by
broadening and detailing the offence of violation of restrictive measures, introducing high turnover-based fines for legal persons, adding specific aggravating and mitigating circumstances and whistle-blower protection, and republishing the national sanctions regime in consolidated form. In parallel, Portuguese authorities have publicly inten - sified their enforcement activity. The Public Prosecu - tor’s Office and the Tax and Customs Authority are reportedly conducting investigations into suspected breaches and circumvention of EU Russia-related sanctions, including scrutiny of trade flows through third countries. These investigations may result in the first significant Portuguese enforcement precedents in this area. Because Portugal implements UN and EU restrictive measures primarily through EU law and Law 97/2017, the procedure depends on whether the person chal - lenges the EU listing itself or a Portuguese implement - ing act. For listings adopted by the European Union (for exam - ple, under Regulations 269/2014, 833/2014, etc), the person or entity is informed of the decision and the reasons, either directly or by notice in the Official Jour - nal, and is given the opportunity to submit observa - tions and a request for reconsideration to the Coun - cil. The Council must review the listing considering any observations or new evidence and may amend or remove the name. In parallel, the listed person can bring an action for annulment before the Gen - eral Court of the European Union under Article 263 of Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union within two months of the communication or, failing that, of publication. 4. Delisting Challenges 4.1 Process At national level, Articles 20 and 21 of Law 97/2017 provide that any act of a Portuguese public entity that applies or executes restrictive measures is subject to judicial challenge “under the general terms”, mean - ing that the person must use the ordinary Portuguese
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