Despite the G7 countries’ broad sanctions against Russia, luxury cars from Europe continue to end up on the streets of Moscow. Sky News journalists have uncovered one of the main routes through which sanctioned products, including luxury cars, are being smuggled into Russia.
The reporters travelled to Georgia, which borders Russia, and spent two days monitoring the process at the Lars checkpoint, the only land route from Georgia to Russia. There, they found a stream of trucks carrying cars that had previously gone through a complex “legalisation” scheme in the Caucasus.
According to the investigation, the cars arrive in Georgia from Europe through the ports of Batumi or Poti, or are delivered through other countries in the region, such as Azerbaijan. They are then registered and customs cleared in Armenia, circumventing Georgia’s ban on car exports to Russia.
The cars are issued with transit numbers, and then drivers – mostly Georgian citizens – drive them to Russia under the guise of transit to third countries, such as Kyrgyzstan. There, the cars are handed over to other people who pick them up in Russia.
The peculiarity of the scheme is that each participant does not formally violate the law, but in aggregate, these actions grossly undermine the effectiveness of European sanctions. Moreover, such transactions are not recorded in customs statistics, which makes it difficult to control and monitor.
Experts and human rights activists emphasise that this scheme not only allows Russia to avoid isolation, but also brings economic benefits to the Caucasus states, which have effectively become intermediaries for the supply of sanctioned products.
“Sanctions are not working. The Russian economy remains stable, and there is no deficit in Moscow,” Sky News journalists conclude.
