Illumina Cambridge pays £7.4 million over UK Russia sanctions breaches

LONDON, September 8, 2026 — Illumina Cambridge Limited has paid HM Revenue and Customs a £7.44 million compound settlement for breaches of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, the British government said Tuesday.

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

HMRC said the conduct breached Regulation 25(1) of the Russia Regulations. The case was brought to the authority’s attention through a voluntary disclosure by Illumina. The company fully cooperated with the subsequent investigation and took remedial action, including ending all business involving Russia.

The settlement highlights the potential exposure of UK companies involved in international supply chains even where sanctioned goods are not physically exported from Britain. HMRC said UK sanctions can apply when a British business is involved in arrangements that ultimately result in sanctioned goods being supplied to Russia or another sanctioned destination.

HMRC may offer a compound settlement as an alternative to criminal prosecution where a breach was inadvertent or resulted from weaknesses in internal controls and the exporter voluntarily disclosed the violation. The government said such settlements would not normally be offered where an exporter deliberately intended to breach controls.

The £7.4 million payment exceeds the more than £6.4 million compound settlement announced in July involving Airbus Operations Limited for strategic export control breaches, although the Airbus case involved export controls rather than Russia sanctions. Petrofac Facilities Management Limited paid £569,157 earlier this year for Russia-related sanctions breaches.

The government also pointed businesses to its sanctions end-use controls, introduced in May 2026, which can require licenses for exports to otherwise non-sanctioned countries where authorities identify a risk that goods or technology could ultimately be diverted to a sanctioned destination.