Enforcement of EU sanctions remains primarily the responsibility of the EU Member States, leading to divergent legal treatments of sanctions violations across the EU. To address this, the EU adopted Directive (EU) 2024/1226 (often referred to as the EU Sanctions Criminal Law Directive) in April 2024.
This Directive harmonizes the definition of criminal offenses and penalties for violating EU restrictive measures, marking a significant step toward uniform sanctions enforcement across the EU. EU Member States must transpose the Directive into national law (whereas Germany missed the respective deadline which was May 20, 2025). The Directive aims to close loopholes (especially acts of circumvention) and increase the deterrent effect of sanctions by ensuring violations are met with similar consequences EU-wide.
Since Germany has not yet implemented said Directive, for now, violations of EU sanctions or German foreign trade law (including export control rules) can lead to criminal or administrative liability. Intentional violations are criminal offenses, and under recent amendments even negligent (grossly negligent) violations can be treated as criminal offenses punishable by up to 3 years’ imprisonment.
Any individual who commits or contributes to a sanctions-related offense is subject to personal criminal liability. Depending on the gravity of the offense and other factors, penalties range from fines to a maximum of 15 years’ imprisonment (for the most serious cases). For example, particularly serious cases – such as willful sanction violations involving large-scale concealment or circumvention – may incur higher sentences (German law is being amended to allow up to 15 years for egregious cases of sanctions evasion).
In addition, certain persons in positions of responsibility may face administrative liability for failing to prevent violations. Under Section 130 of the Act on Regulatory Offenses (Ordnungswidrigkeitengesetz, “OWiG”), a business owner, senior manager, or compliance officer who intentionally or negligently fails to prevent an employee’s sanctions violation can be fined for a supervisory failure. These fines can be significant – up to EUR 40 million in cases of an intentional violation of supervisory duties (this upper limit for corporate fines was recently increased from EUR 10 million to EUR 40 million to meet EU-wide standards). In cases of negligent failure to supervise, the maximum fine is generally half of the maximum for intent (so under new standards, up to EUR 20 million for negligence).
While Germany does not recognize criminal liability of corporations per se (only individuals can commit criminal offenses under German law), companies can be subject to administrative fines for offenses committed by their managers or employees. Under Section 30 OWiG, if someone in a leading position commits a crime or administrative offense that violates a company’s duties or enriches the company, the company can be fined. Sanctions violations committed by directors or senior management (or by employees due to lack of supervision by management) can thus result in corporate fines. Currently, German law provides for corporate fines up to EUR 40 million for intentional misconduct (and up to EUR 20 million for negligent misconduct) in the context of sanctions violations
It is possible that a single sanctions violation triggers multiple penalties on different actors: e.g., an individual perpetrator could face imprisonment, a supervisor could face an administrative fine for oversight failures, and the corporation could face a fine for the offense committed within its organization. This is not considered to constitute “double jeopardy” by the courts because the penalties apply to different responsible parties for their respective wrongs.
Furthermore, authorities may confiscate any economic proceeds derived from a sanctions violation. Under German law (Section 73 et seq. of the Criminal Code, and Section 29 OWiG for administrative offenses), illicit profits can be seized by the state. In practice, confiscation of profits is often regarded as the most impactful sanction, as the amount confiscated can exceed the fines otherwise imposed. The prospect of forfeiting all gains from doing business in violation of sanctions serves as a powerful deterrent.