Apple Subsidiary Fined £390,000 Over Payments to Sanctioned Russian App

The United Kingdom's financial sanctions watchdog has fined an Apple subsidiary £390,000 for allowing payments to reach a sanctioned Russian streaming platform. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) penalized Apple Distribution International Limited (ADI) after the company failed to cancel two transactions totaling £635,618 to Okko LLC in June and July 2022.



ADI operates out of the Republic of Ireland and is the legal entity responsible for paying software developers who distribute their apps through Apple's digital storefront. This is the same division that manages much of the App Store commerce that regularly drives the company's services revenue. The compliance issue occurred when ADI instructed a UK bank to release funds to Okko, a Russian app developer operating a media streaming platform.


Okko was previously owned by Sberbank, Russia's largest bank. After the UK sanctioned Sberbank in April 2022, the bank sold Okko and its assets to JSC New Opportunities on May 17, 2022. The UK government designated JSC New Opportunities under its Russia sanctions regime on June 29, 2022. At that point, Okko became subject to asset-freeze restrictions as a company owned by a designated entity. One payment was completed the same day the designation took effect, and a second followed in late July.

While OFSI acknowledged there was only a narrow window to halt the initial transfer, the agency said third-party compliance tools used by Apple's corporate affiliates failed to identify the change in Okko's ownership. The failure to cancel the second payment led to the breach. Regulators also noted that publicly available reports at the time had already highlighted the transfer of ownership.

Apple flagged the issue itself. The company voluntarily disclosed the transactions to OFSI on October 4, 2022 after identifying the oversight. Because Apple cooperated and reported the issue, regulators reduced a baseline £600,000 penalty by 35 percent, resulting in the final £390,000 fine. OFSI also said ADI had no intent or knowledge that the payments would breach sanctions.

Apple Inc. itself did not face a penalty, with regulators attributing the breach solely to the Irish subsidiary. The agency said the case underscores that companies remain responsible for sanctions compliance even when relying on third-party screening providers.