Carrying cash funds to Russia limited by EU sanctions

As a rule, the sanctions against Russia imposed by the EU prohibit carrying cash funds to Russia. The sanctions contain some exceptions concerning certain private individuals, such as travellers.

The EU sanctions against Russia include an export ban on cash funds (sectoral sanction (EU) No 833/2014, Article 5 i). The sanctions prohibit the sale, supply, transfer and export of cash funds that comprise official currencies of the EU Member States. The ban does not impose any minimum threshold in terms of amounts in euros. However, according to instructions for interpreting the sanctions published by the EU Commission, for example carrying cash to Russia for personal use should be subject to a narrow interpretation.

Customs supervises the sanctions imposed on Russia, and this supervision is a part of normal customs enforcement. For its part, Customs ensures that the EU sanctions against Russia are implemented as appropriately as possible. This is why there are now specifications to controls of cash, as for example border traffic has increased since COVID-related travel restrictions are no longer in force.

Read more detailed information on restrictions concerning cash funds: https://tulli.fi/en/russian-attack-on-ukraine

The European Union has imposed extensive sanctions against Russia and Belarus due to the attack on Ukraine. As the implementing authority, the tasks of Finnish Customs include enforcing the sanctions on imports and exports agreed at EU level.