---
url: https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/03/30/apple-ireland-appears-to-have-broken-sanctions-on-russia
title: Did Apple work with Russia after the Ukraine attacks began?
description: Apple's Ireland subsidiary has been fined half a million dollars by UK regulators who say the company probably broke sanctions against Russia.
access_date: 2026-03-30T19:18:09.000Z
current_date: 2026-03-30T19:18:09.154Z
---

Apple's Ireland subsidiary has been fined half a million dollars by UK regulators who say the company probably broke sanctions against Russia.

After Russia began its attacks on Ukraine in 2022, both the US and Europe imposed sanctions that, for example, meant Apple Pay no longer being available. Now according to the _Financial Times_, a UK regulator has fined Apple over payments to Okko, a Russian online video streaming service.

The UK is not part of the European Union, but the payments were made via a UK-based bank. Consequently, the country's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) had the authority to impose the fine of $517,946.25\. 

At time of writing, there is no reference to the case on the OFSI's website.

Reportedly, however, in October 2022, Apple Distribution International voluntarily disclosed its payments of $844,145 to Okko. The regulator has concluded that Apple breached Russia sanctions "on the balance of probabilities."

It's believed that the payments to Okko were from customers' buying that Russian app's services. Apple collects App Store payments and then issues app developers with that sum, minus a fee.

Apple made two payments to Okko after the sanctions began. It's possible that at least one payment represented customer purchases from before the war. 

Okko had been owned by Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia, but it was sold to the Moscow-based JSC New Opportunities in May 2022\. The US-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies claimed this sale was an "apparent attempt to evade sanctions."

JSC was specifically sanctioned by the UK in June 2022, and Apple's two payments were both made after that date.

OFSI is a part of the UK's Treasury and to date has rarely issued fines. However, in February 2026, the OFSI launched a new scheme to speed up what cases it is examining, and this case with Apple is the first under the new system.

Apple could have been liable for a $1.3 million fine. However, the sum was reduced both because the company voluntarily disclosed the payments, and because it waived its right to appeal.

Separately, in 2024 Apple was fined $13.7 million by Russia over alleged App Store anti-steering that took place prior to the war.

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