UK Court Dismisses First-Ever Criminal Prosecution Under Russia Sanctions

A London judge has thrown out criminal charges against the UK subsidiary of Hauser & Wirth, where Princess Eugenie has been a director of the UK gallery since 2015, for allegedly breaching Russian sanctions by making a George Condo artwork available to a buyer connected with Russia, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove the recipient was a "PERSON CONNECTED WITH RUSSIA" at the relevant time.

• This was widely reported as the FIRST KNOWN CRIMINAL PROSECUTION AND THE FIRST CORPORATE PROSECUTION under the UK's Russia sanctions regime specifically targeting the ban on supplying luxury goods (including fine art) to Russia or persons connected with Russia.
• The dismissal turns on a narrow but critical evidentiary point regarding the buyer's status and residence/connection to Russia at the time of the transaction. It does not constitute a broader ruling on the gallery's compliance systems or on whether a different set of facts would have led to a conviction.
• The case highlights the practical difficulties prosecutors face in art-market sanctions enforcement when buyer residency or “connection” must be proved to the criminal standard.

Luxury goods

• The UK’s luxury goods ban (part of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, as amended) prohibits the supply of items including artworks over £250 to Russia or for use in Russia, or to “persons connected with Russia”.
• Breaches can carry unlimited fines for companies and up to six months’ imprisonment for individuals. Prior to this case, enforcement in the art sector had been limited, with one reported conviction of an individual earlier in 2026

The case

• At Southwark Crown Court on or around 9 July 2026, Judge Tony Baumgardner (Recorder of Westminster) dismissed the case in its entirety on evidentiary grounds.
• The charges, brought by the Crown Prosecution Service following an HM Revenue & Customs investigation, related to the alleged supply of the 2021 work on paper Escape from Humanity by American artist George Condo.
• The UK branch of the Swiss-owned mega-gallery, Hauser & Wirth Gallery Limited, faced allegations of making a luxury good (art valued over £250) available to a person connected with Russia between April and December 2022 — after the UK imposed its ban on such exports in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
• A shipping company, Artay Rauchwerger Solomons, was charged alongside the gallery.
• The buyer was named in reports as Alexander Popov, who runs an art foundation with his wife.
• Prosecutors described Popov and his wife as collectors “based in Russia” with a Moscow foundation, Russian property and businesses.
• However, the defence presented evidence that Popov had been distancing himself from the Putin regime, had rented out his Moscow flat, and held properties elsewhere (including Bosnia and Armenia). He was not under UK sanctions and faced no accusations of wrongdoing.
• Judge Baumgardner ruled that the prosecution had not produced sufficient evidence to establish that Popov met the legal test of being a “person connected with Russia” at the time of the transaction.
• This failure was fatal to the case.
• Both criminal charges against the gallery (and, per reports, the parallel charges against the shipper) were quashed.

Hauser & Wirth statement

• “We are delighted that the court has dismissed the case against our UK gallery in its entirety.
• From the outset, we strongly contested these proceedings and denied any wrongdoing. We continue to be fully committed to complying with all our legal obligations including with respect to sanctions. We are pleased that this matter is now closed.”

Sources for verification

• Global Investigations Review (matches your provided summary closely): https://globalinvestigationsreview.com/just-sanctions/article/uk-court-dismisses-russia-sanctions-case-against-art-gallery
• Artnet News (detailed account including artwork title, timeline and gallery statement): https://news.artnet.com/art-world/hauser-wirth-cleared-of-russia-sanctions-charge-2786973
• The Art Newspaper (clear timeline and buyer context): https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/07/09/hauser-wirth-cleared-of-russian-sanction-charges
• ARTnews (background on charges and judge’s reasoning): https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/hauser-wirth-cleared-breaching-russia-sanctions-condo-1234791702/
• The Independent (Princess Eugenie connection, buyer details on distancing from Russia, and judge's full name/title): https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/crime/princess-eugenie-russian-sanctions-gallery-b3011848.html
• Artlyst (additional context on the dismissal hearing): https://artlyst.com/hauser-wirth-cleared-of-sanctions-charge-over-russian-george-condo-sale/
• Skadden (law firm note on the dismissal): https://www.skadden.com/about/news-and-rankings/news/2026/07/hauser-and-wirth-secures-dismissal-of-breach-of-trade-secrets-charge

All reporting is from July 2026 and draws from court proceedings and statements by the parties. Minor variations exist across outlets on the precise calendar date of the hearing (Thursday 9 July or the day before), but the substance of the ruling is consistent. This story is written strictly from the verified public record. No assumptions have been made about unproven elements of the original allegations.