Journalists discovered deliveries of EU-sanctioned cars to Russia via Finland

Cars of expensive brands, prohibited for import into Russia by EU sanctions, continue to enter the country through Finland, the investigation of the national television and radio company Yle found. Journalists managed to trace the route using GPS beacons.

They installed their premium cars BMW X3 and Lexus RX350, found on a trailer near the port of Kotka. Because of it, deliveries of goods not subject to restrictions from the EU to Russia continue. Lexus arrived there from Canada, which joined the EU sanctions. The name of the buyer’s ego in that country “was similar to Russian”, according to the investigation.

The auto trailer took the cars first to St. Petersburg, where they were probably cleared by customs in Russia. Then to the warehouse in Moscow. A few days later, the Lexus was found in a Tomsk car dealership. It was sold there for 100,000 euros, at least twice as expensive as it was in Canada. A BMW, probably brought to order, was also moving in the same city.

The Yle material does not explain how the cars were imported to Russia. One of the popular schemes, described by journalists, suggests that cars are registered as exports through Russia to the countries of Central Asia. There they change documents and are sold on the domestic market. The transit of such goods is not prohibited by sanctions.