Two arrested in Estonia for evading sanctions on Russia

Estonian authorities have arrested two people for their alleged role in evading sanctions on Russia.

A man and a woman are suspected of providing resources worth more than €350,000 ($380,580) to a sanctioned person. They allegedly used the Kremlin-controlled online platform Sputnik Meedia to do so, authorities said late Wednesday.

Evidence of this had been collected since 2021.

"European Union-imposed sanctions in response to international crimes committed against the state of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people - violating these sanctions is a crime against peace," prosecutor Taavi Pern was quoted as saying in the statement.

The two arrested people reportedly also kept Sputnik Meedia active, despite the sanctions imposed on Russian state media outlet.

The EU banned the Sputnik distribution in response to Russia's attack on Ukraine and propaganda. However, the investigation does not assess content published on the media platform, Pern said.