HM Treasury, through the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, has fined Sabre Global Technologies Limited GBP 1,000,920.59 for breaches of UK financial sanctions against Russia. The penalty is described as the largest imposed for a breach of Russian financial sanctions since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It relates to the company’s continued provision of travel technology services to designated Russian airline Ural Airlines for seven months after its May 2022 designation, as well as efforts to route payments through a non-UK bank account after its UK bank blocked payments on sanctions grounds. The case is the first OFSI penalty for a circumvention offence. OFSI assessed it as “most serious,” finding that SGTL made funds and economic resources available to a designated person, continued providing services after potential breaches had been identified, and undermined the purpose of the sanctions regime. The authority also identified compliance weaknesses at the firm, including inadequate staffing, processes and senior oversight of sanctions risk. SGTL voluntarily disclosed the matter, cooperated with the investigation and undertook remediation. The case was the third penalty resolved under transitional arrangements in OFSI’s settlement policy introduced in February 2026.
HM Treasury2026-06-17
HM Treasury imposes record GBP 1 million Russia sanctions penalty on Sabre Global Technologies
HM Treasury, through OFSI, fined Sabre Global Technologies Limited GBP 1,000,920.59 for Russia sanctions breaches involving continued services to Ural Airlines after its designation and an attempted payment workaround through a non-UK bank account. The penalty is the largest imposed for a Russian sanctions breach since 2022 and the first OFSI penalty for circumvention.