On Monday, the German police detained five people suspected of exporting goods to Russia worth at least 30 million euros, including shipments for arms companies. According to the prosecutor’s office, this is a violation of sanctions imposed by the European Union. TASR refers to the reports of the DPA and AFP agencies.
- German police detained five people suspected of exporting goods to Russia.
- Exported goods worth at least 30 million euros also included arms shipments.
- The detention is related to the suspicion of circumventing EU sanctions against Russia.
- The suspects used a company from Lübeck to buy and export industrial products.
- The EU adopted economic sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The suspects were detained during a nationwide crackdown targeting a larger criminal network that was supposed to allow Moscow to circumvent EU sanctions imposed after the start of the war in Ukraine. Investigators said the detainees used a company based in Lübeck on the Baltic Sea to buy industrial goods and export them to Russia.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU introduced extensive economic sanctions including restrictions on trade, finance, energy, industry, transportation, and luxury goods to weaken Russia’s ability to continue the war. Russia tries to circumvent sanctions, for example, through fictitious companies or so-called shadow fleetwrites DPA.
