The Latvian State Security Service (VDD) has emphasized that sanction violators are persistently evolving new and sophisticated evasion strategies, complicating detection efforts in their 2025 activity review. The agency forecasts that both local and foreign businesses will continue to engage in cross-border transactions involving goods subject to EU import and export restrictions, particularly focusing on eastern markets. Given the lack of trade sanctions against Russia in certain Asian and Middle Eastern countries, these risks remain pronounced.

The VDD's analysis highlights that unscrupulous entrepreneurs are actively attempting to conceal the true nature of their business dealings and ties to Russia for profit in the previous year. This trend suggests a calculated approach by these violators to navigate around the imposed sanctions, indicating a need for heightened vigilance and stringent monitoring of such activities by regulatory bodies. With multiple strategies at play, the complexity of identifying sanction breaches has significantly increased.

Last year, the VDD initiated 22 criminal proceedings concerning suspicions of violations of sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia or Belarus. As in 2024, the majority of these cases, ten in total, were launched under the suspicion of direct involvement with sanctioned goods. This reinforces the need for continued enforcement and review of legal frameworks to ensure compliance and mitigate potential risks associated with these illicit practices, emphasizing the ongoing challenges faced in sanction enforcement within Latvia and beyond.