On 14 March 2026, the Council of the European Union (EU) decided to extend targeted financial sanctions against Russia, continuing to target individuals associated with its military aggression against Ukraine. On 27 February, targeted financial sanctions against Belarus were also extended.
In connection with the continuation of the sanctions regime, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) reminds that the “Frozen Assets” section is constantly available on the website sankcijas.fid.gov.lv, where information is published about Sanctioned persons whose funds or economic resources are frozen in Latvia.
As of March 16, 2026, assets owned, controlled or held by a total of 160 sanctioned entities have been frozen in Latvia. Of these:
The “Frozen Assets” section provides detailed information on various types of frozen assets, as well as data in Excel format on sanctioned entities for which FID has received information.
Cooperation with companies in Russia is particularly high risk
FIU emphasizes that any cooperation with persons directly included in the sanctions lists is prohibited. The sanctions lists also include influential Russian businessmen who own or control enterprises and economic sectors of strategic importance to Russia. In order to prevent circumvention of the sanctions restrictions, the sanctions also apply to companies owned or controlled by these persons. Therefore, cooperation with companies owned or controlled by persons included in the sanctions list is generally prohibited.
Therefore, the risk of being involved in a violation of sanctions is particularly high when cooperating with merchants in Russia. To ensure compliance with sanctions, it is not enough to formally verify whether the cooperation partner is included in the sanctions list. In addition, it is necessary to assess whether the company is owned or controlled by a person included in the sanctions list. This also applies to cases where sectoral sanctions do not restrict the sale of specific goods or the provision of services to Russian persons. In targeted financial sanctions, the decisive factor is who the persons involved in the transaction are and who benefits from the transaction.
The FIU further recalls that the responsibility for compliance with sanctions, as well as for assessing the appropriateness of a particular transaction or activity, remains with the individual. This applies to both targeted financial sanctions and sectoral sanctions and includes the obligation to conduct due diligence based on the available information and the applicable sanctions regulatory framework.
The FIU website also provides guidelines in Latvian language for managing sanctions risks in transactions with heightened-risk countries, which provide practical recommendations for complying with sanctions and mitigating risks: Guidelines.pdf
EU individual sanctions against individuals and organisations undermining the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine have been in place since 2014 and cover a wide range of individuals – including senior officials, companies, oligarchs and other regime supporters.
Since April 2024, the FIU has been the national competent authority for sanctions implementation in Latvia.
The targeted financial sanctions are imposed in accordance with Council Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 of 17 March 2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.
Targeted financial sanctions against Belarus were imposed by Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 of 18 May 2006 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus and the involvement of Belarus in the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Targeted financial sanctions may be violated, including by conducting transactions with a person who is a subject of sanctions (directly included in the list of targeted financial sanctions or owned or controlled by a person included in the list of sanctions); by conducting transactions with a credit institution that is subject to targeted financial sanctions; by supplying goods to a merchant who then supplies them to the subject of sanctions; by conducting a transaction that indirectly benefits the subject of sanctions (for example, by leasing goods from a merchant whose owner is a subject of sanctions); by purchasing such goods from a merchant whose manufacturer is a subject of sanctions.
.png)
