Apple Distribution International made two payments totalling more than £635,000 to a streaming service controlled by a sanctioned Russian entity.
The UK government has fined an Apple subsidiary £390,000 for breaching sanctions against Russia after the company made payments totalling more than £635,000 to a Russian streaming service, the Financial Times reported.
Apple Distribution International (ADI), the Ireland-based arm of the US technology giant responsible for selling Apple products across Europe and the Middle East, instructed a UK bank to make two payments to Okko, a streaming platform that had come under the control of a sanctioned Russian entity.
The fine was imposed by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), the Treasury's sanctions enforcement body, after ADI voluntarily disclosed the payments and the two parties reached a settlement.
Okko had been acquired by Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and was subsequently sold to a company called JSC New Opportunities, which was placed under UK sanctions in June 2022; the payments were made in June and July of that year.
OFSI said there was no evidence ADI was aware at the time that Okko had become affiliated with a sanctioned entity, but said the case demonstrated that non-UK companies could still breach sanctions by using British financial institutions to process payments.
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An Apple spokesperson said the company had "promptly and proactively" reported its findings to the UK government after identifying the payments and was continuing to strengthen its compliance processes.
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a US thinktank, suggested the sale of Okko by Sberbank had likely been an attempt to shield assets from western sanctions.
