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Germany Arrests Five in Major Scheme to Smuggle Sanctioned Goods to Russia
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Germany’s Federal Prosecutor has arrested five people on suspicion of forming a criminal organization to circumvent European Union sanctions against Russia and secretly supply restricted goods to the country.
The arrests were carried out on February 2, according to an official statement from Germany’s Federal Prosecutor.
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The detentions followed arrest warrants issued by an investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice and were conducted with the involvement of the Customs Criminal Investigation Office. Those arrested include Artem I., a German and Ukrainian citizen; Boris M. and Yevhen R., both German citizens; and Mykyta S., a dual German and Russian national. Another dual German-Russian citizen, Daniel A., was temporarily detained.
The arrests took place in Lübeck and the Duchy of Lauenburg district. At the same time, investigators carried out searches at additional locations as part of an ongoing probe involving five other suspects who remain at large.
According to prosecutors, the suspects are accused of systematically and for profit violating Germany’s Foreign Trade Act and EU sanctions regulations imposed on Russia, acting as members of a structured criminal group.
Investigators describe Mykyta S. as the central figure in the case. He is the sole owner and managing director of a trading company based in Lübeck. Prosecutors say that since at least February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he and other suspects used the company to covertly supply goods to Russian industry and export them to Russia.
To conceal the scheme, the group allegedly relied on at least one additional shell company in Lübeck, fictitious buyers inside and outside the EU, and a Russian recipient company in which Mykyta S. also held a senior position.
The objective of the operation was to bypass EU embargo restrictions. On the Russian side, investigators believe state-linked entities were involved in the supply network. Among the end recipients were at least 24 Russian defense-industry companies already listed under EU sanctions.
According to the investigation, the group organized approximately 16,000 shipments to Russia, with a total value of at least $32 million.
Earlier, a fresh investigation by TriTrace Investigations found that Russia has continued to receive high-end automobiles despite Western sanctions, with 214 luxury cars worth an estimated $75 million entering the country since March 2022.
Models from brands including Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, and Rolls-Royce were brought into Russia via alternative supply routes. These imports took place even though the European Union and the United Kingdom imposed a ban on exporting luxury goods—such as premium vehicles—to Russia, indicating systematic efforts to bypass the restrictions.
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