EU Council introduces criminal penalty for sanctions evasion

BRUSSELS, Nov 28 (PRIME) -- The E.U. Council unanimously approved a criminal penalty for evasion or violation of the European sanctions, according to a statement released on Monday.

"Currently the member states have different definitions of what constitutes a violation of restrictive measures and what penalties should be applied in the event of violation," the statement read.

"The inclusion of the violation of restrictive measures in the list of ‘E.U. crimes’ is the first of two steps to ensure a similar degree of sanctions enforcement throughout the E.U. and to dissuade attempts to circumvent or violate E.U. measures."

The authority said that a definition of a criminal offence will be prepared soon and sent for consideration to the Council and the European Parliament.

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