Britain has levied a fine of more than £1 million (approximately $1.3 million) against the UK subsidiary of the airline ticketing services provider Sabre Corp. This penalty marks the largest fine issued by the UK for violations of the anti-Russian sanctions implemented following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

According to the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), the breach involved the following key actions:

Sabre provided the sanctioned Russian carrier Ural Airlines with access to its Global Distribution System (GDS) for a period of seven months.

After payments to Sabre’s UK bank account were blocked due to the sanctions, the company actively sought alternative payment routes.

OFSI noted that Sabre explicitly asked Ural Airlines to route a test payment to a bank account outside the UK to bypass the restrictions—a move the regulator classified as deliberate sanctions evasion.

Despite the evasion attempts, Sabre ultimately self-reported the incident to the authorities and cooperated fully with the regulatory investigation, emphasizing that it takes its legal and ethical obligations seriously.

However, the OFSI used the penalty as a stern warning to the broader business community. The agency stated that the action “underlines the UK’s increasingly tough enforcement of the sanctions regime against Russia in support of Ukraine and teaches the industry a clear lesson on compliance.”

This record-breaking fine is part of a broader crackdown by the British government on sanctions evasion networks:

Crypto Crackdown: Just last month, the UK sanctioned the cryptocurrency firm HTX, accusing it of acting as illicit “infrastructure” that facilitated the transfer of $1.5 billion to Russia.

Total Designations: To date, the UK has imposed sanctions on more than 3,000 individuals, businesses, and vessels under its Russia sanctions regime.