Illumina Cambridge Pays £7.44 Million Over Russia Sanctions Breaches

Illumina Cambridge Limited has paid HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) a £7,438,840.13 compound settlement for breaches of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

According to HMRC, the breaches occurred between July 2022 and January 2023 and involved Illumina’s participation in the supply of sanctioned goods from one overseas company within its corporate group to another overseas group company for export to Russia and other destinations.

The matter came to HMRC’s attention following a voluntary disclosure by Illumina. HMRC said the company fully cooperated with the investigation and undertook remedial action, including ceasing all business involving Russia.

The case is notable because no goods needed to be exported directly from the UK for UK sanctions exposure to arise. HMRC said it demonstrates how sanctions breaches can occur where a UK business is involved in an overseas supply chain that results in sanctioned goods being supplied indirectly to Russia.

For compliance teams, the enforcement action underlines the need to assess sanctions risk across group entities, intermediaries and cross-border supply chains rather than focusing only on direct UK exports.

Sources

HM Revenue & Customs, “Agreed compound settlements for strategic export and sanction offences”, 8 September 2026.