Criminalization of non-compliance with international sanctions imposed by the European Union – derogatory sanctions from the Criminal Code for legal entities
The end of 2025 marks a real turning point in the applicable sentencing regime in case violation of international sanctions, with the entry into force of Law no. 224/2025 for the amendment and completion of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 202/2008 on the implementation of international sanctions. Thus, the facts that were previously sanctioned administratively as contraventions acquire, starting from December 19, 2025, criminal relevance, with the transposition of the EU Directive 2024/1226 on the definition of crimes and sanctions for violating the restrictive measures of the European Union (EU).
In this context, by Law no. 224/2025, 12 distinct categories of acts were incriminated which may be committed in connection with the international sanctions imposed by the EU, among which are: the provision of funds or economic resources to persons or entities targeted by the sanctions; non-compliance with the obligation to freeze the funds or economic resources of the entities in question; allowing sanctioned persons to enter or transit Romania; carrying out or continuing transactions, including public procurement contracts or concessions, with third countries subject to sanctions or entities controlled by them; violation of restrictions on trade in goods and provision of services (including financial, brokerage or technical assistance) to partners affected by the restrictions; evading sanctions by concealing funds or real beneficiaries, providing false information or omitting to report to the competent authorities; failure to comply with information obligations regarding frozen funds; as well as the violation of the conditions established by the authorizations issued by the competent authorities.
At a first reading of the new law, it is understood that only violation of international sanctions imposed by the EU becomes crimealthough the scope of GEO 202/2008 (which is supplemented by the new law) also includes the international sanctions established by the resolutions of the Security Council of the United Nations Organization or other regimes regarding international sanctions that are currently not binding, adopted within international organizations or by other states, to the extent that later the Romanian authorities will decide that they apply on the territory of Romania.
In the case of natural persons, the penalty for committing these crimes in the standard version (the basic form of criminalization) is imprisonment from one to five years and the prohibition of the exercise of certain rights. However, the penalty limits are increased to two to seven years of imprisonment if the funds or economic resources involved amount to at least 100,000 euros, in the equivalent of the national currency, on the date of the crime, or military or dual-use products are involved. The penalty increases to limits between five and 12 years if the violation concerns military products in ML1 categories (Military List), ML2, ML3, ML4, ML6, ML9 and ML10. In the latter case, or in the case of military or dual-use products, the act is criminalized even if it is committed culpably, in which case prison sentences range from six months to three years.
The attempt is also criminalised, except crimes regarding the failure to comply with the obligations to freeze the funds or economic resources of some entities targeted by sanctions, as well as the facts of evading EU international sanctions by failing to fulfill the obligations to inform or provide information to the competent authorities. In addition to the risk of criminal liability, the consequences for violating the sanctions can be serious even from the criminal prosecution phase, considering that Law no. 224/2025 imposes the obligation to take security measures, but also to confiscate assets, in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Code.
What level can the maximum fines for legal entities reach?
The legal person is criminally liable for the offenses provided for by Law no. 224/2025 and committed in carrying out its object of activity or in the interest or on its behalf by the governing bodies, its representatives or any other person acting under its authority. And it is very important to mention that, in the event of the crime being committed by a legal person, Law no. 224/2025 provides for much higher values of the amount of a day-fine (which is the basis of the final fine) compared to those contained in the Criminal Code. Thus, art. 137 para. (2) of the Criminal Code provides that, in the case of the legal person, “the amount of the fine is determined by the days-fine system. The amount corresponding to one day-fine, between 100 and 5,000 lei, is multiplied by the number of fine days, which is between 30 days and 600 daysOn the other hand, Law No. 224/2025 derogates from these provisions and imposes amounts for fine days that vary, depending on the crime actually committed, between 3,000 lei and 835,000 of lions.
Thus, from a sanctioning perspective, committing one of the crimes provided for by Law no. 244/2025 is the most serious crime that a legal person can commit in the regulation of Romanian criminal law. For example, in the case of the crime of qualified murder, according to the days-fine system established by the Criminal Code, a legal person could be sentenced to a criminal fine in the amount of 2,550,000 lei (5,000 lei x 510 days-fine). Instead, according to Law no. 224/2025, if, for example, a legal entity violates the international sanctions imposed by the EU with regard to military products in categories ML1, ML2, ML3, ML4, ML6, ML9 and ML10, it can be sanctioned with a criminal fine in the maximum amount of 281,400,000 lei (670,000 lei x 420 days-fine).
Similarly, in case of violation of the prohibition to make available to a person subject to sanctions, an entity or a designated body or for their benefit, funds or economic resources, directly or indirectly, a legal person could be sanctioned with a criminal fine in the maximum amount of 200,400,000 lei (835,000 lei x 240 days-fine).
Moreover, if, for example, an economic operator negligently violates the prohibition to trade, import or transport goods, if the prohibition or restriction of that behavior constitutes an international EU sanction, he can be sanctioned with a criminal fine in the maximum amount of 32,400,000 lei (135,000 lei x 240 days-fine).
In all cases, it can be observed that the limits of the criminal fine provided by Law no. 224/2025 for legal entities far exceed the general maximum of 3,000,000 lei imposed by the Criminal Code.
From the perspective of the competence to carry out criminal prosecution, Law no. 224/2025 assigns the investigation of these crimes to the exclusive competence of the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism.
In conclusion, given the severity of the sanctions regime, compliance with international sanctions becomes an essential element of governance and risk management. For this reason, economic operators must integrate the risk of sanctions in their internal control framework, by allocating adequate resources, implementing effective processes for verifying customers and business partners and developing solid risk assessment and monitoring mechanisms regarding the type of transactions carried out.
Opinion material by Laura Lică-Banu, Director, Advisory, Deloitte Romania, and Cătălin Chibzui, Managing Associate, Reff & Associations | Deloitte Legal
Article supported by Deloitte Romania
