The trial has commenced in Berlin of Evgeniya P., Wladimir K. and Ekaterina M. Only Evgeniya P. is before the court, the others are being tried in absentia.
The three are alleged to have exported 257 luxury cars to Russia in breach of the EU’s sanctions with a value of €28.2m.
The exports are reported to have been completed via Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan or Turkey.
Further to our earlier post, it is being reported (here, here and here) that in September a court in Frankfurt convicted Alexander S. of exports of sanctioned goods to Russia.
He is reported to have been sentenced to 4 years and 11 months in jail. Both the defence and prosecution have appealed.
The conviction relates to exports of dual use maritime technology to Russia via a procurement network said to be run through the Cypriot company Mostrello.
This story is actually from September 2024, and was previously missed by this blog.
Three individuals were convicted of 430 separate violations of the German Foreign Trade Act by way of exports of nearly 500 luxury cars to Russia in breach of sanctions.
The individuals falsely declared the exports were for Belarus.
Two of the individuals were each sentenced to 6 years in jail, and the third to 4 years.
In addition €30m in the gross proceeds of the sales were confiscated.
German Customs has issued a 16 July Press release relating to raids and an investigation into alleged exports of luxury cars worth €3.4m to Russia.
The investigation was prompted by a suspicious activity report made to Germany’s FIU.
The investigation involves Hamburg Customs Investigation Office and the Hanover Public Prosecutor’s Office.
It is alleged that the exporter made false customs declarations purporting to indicate that the cars were destined for non-sanctioned countries, while the investigators determined that the cars were all subsequently registered in Russia.
Further to our earlier post, it is being reported that the confiscation proceedings are now ongoing in the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court seeking to confiscate €720 million as the proceeds of crime from a sanctioned Russian bank.
According to reports the Russian bank sought to transfer these funds out of Germany in the immediate wake of being designated by the EU in June 2022, but the banks asked to process the payments refused to proceed.
As funds transferred in breach of the asset freeze imposed on the bank, these funds have been characterized by the prosecution as the proceeds of crime and so subject to confiscation under applicable anti-money laundering laws.
The case is being heard before a five judge bench.
Last month we posted regarding the conviction of five individuals for Russian trade sanctions offences by the Hamburg Regional Court.
It is being reported that the sentences have now been handed down.
Of the five individuals, one was given a custodial sentence of four and a half years, and two others were given custodial sentences of three years.
The final two defendants were given suspended sentences.
The offending concerned the shipment of electronic components valued at over EUR850,000 to Russia via third countries such as Hong Kong, China, Armenia and the UAE.
It is being reported that as part of an ongoing trial in Hamburg, that the Prosecutor’s Office is seeking a jail term of 5 years and 10 months for the main defendant. It is noteworthy that the Defence is seeking a jail term of 3 and a half years underlining the seriousness of the offending.
The alleged offending relates to the export of approximately €800,000 in electrical components and laboratory supplies.
There are four other individual defendants with the prosecution seeking shorter jail terms of suspended sentences for those.
The trial has been ongoing since April, and the verdict is expected shortly.
It is being reported that the Schwerin Public Prosecutor’s Office has commenced an investigation into suspected imports of prohibited goods from Russia.
The case illustrates the appetite for investigating suspected sanctions breaches even of low value, as the cost of the goods imported is said to be €26.83: consisting of a bar of soap, a decorative piece of wood and a CD. The recipient is reported as saying that the goods were a gift from a long-standing Russian friend.
Last week more than 140 officers from the Munich Customs Investigation Office and the Munich I Public Prosecutor’s Office conducted raids on several premises in Munich and Baden Württemberg.
The subject of the raids was a machine tool manufacturer suspected of exporting 20 machines valued at more than €5.5m to Russia in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
It has subsequently been reported that the company was Spinner GmbH.
It has also now been reported that three individuals have been charged with sanctions offences. They have not been named.
The press release from the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office also stated that the Bulgarian authorities conducted contemporaneous raids at premises in Bulgaria with support and coordination from Eurojust.
As first reported in Global Sanctions, and as per a press release by German Customs, the Marburg Regional Court on 8 July has sentenced an individual to 5 years in jail for exporting luxury cars to Russian breach of the EU’s sanctions.
The man was convicted of 71 separate counts.
The court also confiscated approximately €5m as the gross proceeds of the cars sales.
