UK fines Sabre more than £1 million in major Russia sanctions case

LONDON, June 17, 2026 — The United Kingdom said Wednesday it had imposed a £1,000,920.59 penalty on Sabre Global Technologies Limited, a UK-registered travel technology company, for breaches of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, in what officials described as the largest financial sanctions penalty since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said Sabre continued providing Russian carrier Ural Airlines with access to its global distribution system for about seven months after the airline was designated by the UK on May 19, 2022. OFSI said the conduct breached rules on making funds available for the benefit of a designated person, making economic resources available to a designated person and circumvention of sanctions prohibitions.

According to the penalty notice, Sabre invoiced Ural Airlines in April, May and June 2022 for a total of $906,576.30 and later explored alternative ways to receive payment after its UK bank blocked transfers on sanctions grounds. OFSI said that included a $200 test payment sent on Sept. 21, 2022 to a Sabre US bank account, which it said amounted to circumvention.

The agency assessed the total value of the breaches at $3.22 million, or £2.63 million, including the value of services provided between May 19 and Dec. 6, 2022, when Ural Airlines retained access to Sabre’s system. OFSI classified the case as “most serious” and said it was the first penalty it had issued for a circumvention offense.

Sabre made a voluntary disclosure on Oct. 31, 2022 and cooperated with the investigation, which helped qualify it for a discount, the government said. Officials added that the company had since taken remediation steps, but said its sanctions controls at the time were weakened by poor staffing, limited senior oversight and inadequate UK-specific compliance processes.