Europe tightens the net on sanctions evasion

Europol’s operational push: Target Group SanctionsEuropol has reinforced its operational support to EU Member States with the establishment of a ‘Target Group Sanctions’, a new team within its European Financial and Economic Crime Centre dedicated to identifying and disrupting criminal networks involved in sanctions evasion.Building on the work of Operation OSCAR launched in 2022, the Target Group Sanctions uses Europol’s intelligence, analytical and financial-tracing capabilities to help investigators uncover illicit trade routes, track financial flows and detect related criminal activities, such as money laundering, customs fraud and document forgery.The new capability has already provided direct support to several investigations into suspected sanctions evasion across the EU.Europol and OLAF launch ‘Project Transporter’To further reinforce the EU’s response to sanctions circumvention, Europol and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) have launched a joint initiative: Project Transporter. This project focuses on vehicle exports to third countries for possible onward transfer to Russia and Belarus.EU Member States have reported a sharp increase in these shipments, often supported by forged paperwork, complex diversion routes and money laundering indicators pointing to organised, commercially driven attempts to evade EU measures.Project Transporter will bring together specialist investigators from customs, police and financial crime services to strengthen information exchange, share investigative techniques and deepen operational coordination across Europe. The initiative complements Europol’s expanded operational role through Target Group Sanctions.By combining Europol’s analytical capabilities with OLAF’s expertise on customs and EU expenditure fraud, Project Transporter aims to provide stronger, more coordinated support to Member States tackling sanctions evasion.