Wealthy Russians Turn to Personal Shoppers and Smuggling to Access Sanctioned Luxury Goods

Russians are bypassing Western sanctions on luxury goods by leveraging personal shoppers, resellers, and smuggling networks to maintain their access to high-end European fashion, according to the Financial Times on December 26.

Despite restrictions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, designer handbags, haute couture, and luxury suits continue to flow into the country through a shadow supply chain.

Restrictions introduced by the European Union in 2022 capped legal sales of luxury items to Russia at $318 (€300). However, customs records show that goods are being rerouted through countries like the United Arab Emirates and China, where such sanctions are not enforced.

For instance, a shipment of over 300 Italian-made Bottega Veneta bags, each priced at an average of $1,800, entered Russia from Dubai via a China-based reseller in September.

Personal shoppers operating on Instagram and Telegram openly advertise their services to Russian clients, promising access to exclusive collections. One popular Instagram reseller, known as Lliyenish, offers to source anything from Dubai and Europe.

Middlemen have seen booming business since the sanctions began. An Italian reseller, identifying himself as ‘Mikhail,’ revealed that he ships 10 to 20 parcels weekly to Russia, earning up to $6,800 in commissions.

“The Italians don’t care,” he said, describing how retailers knowingly sell to intermediaries despite they know that the destination of the goods is Russia.

Latvian customs officials reported intercepting 60 shipments this year alone, many falsely labeled or undervalued to evade detection.

Some Western brands and importers have adapted to the sanctions by adjusting pricing and collections. Italian menswear brand Canali, for example, shifted to offering suits priced just under the $318 threshold for export to Russia. Analysts suggest this is a deliberate move to continue supplying the Russian market while adhering to regulations.

For middle-class Russians, however, the sanctions have made luxury items nearly unattainable. “Rich Russians still get everything through fashion buyers. For the rest of us, the prices are just too high now,” said a Moscow-based web designer, who admitted she has stopped buying luxury goods entirely.

Earlier, German automaker BMW announced that it had identified export violations at its Hannover branch that enabled the delivery of vehicles to Russia. The breaches were uncovered through an internal audit, prompting the company to halt further sales of vehicles.