Customs search car dealers because of Russian deliveries
Existing EU sanctions prohibit the export of luxury cars to Russia. Several Rhineland-Palatinate car dealers are accused of having violated this rule 190 times. The customs office searched their offices and seized more than four and a half million euros.
The customs office searched the offices of several Rhineland-Palatinate car dealers who are suspected of having exported luxury cars to Russia in violation of the embargo. The Customs Investigation Office Essen confirmed this. The Public Prosecutor's Office in Kaiserslautern accuses the car dealers of 190 commercial violations in the millions.
According to reports, seven business and private premises in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germersheim were searched on a Wednesday. The car dealers are accused of smuggling "high-priced cars" to Russia in a commercial capacity, as it was further stated. Such cars may not be exported to Russia due to an EU embargo.
The suspects are alleged to have deceived German authorities by pretending that the deliveries were to Russian neighboring countries - among them Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, or Turkey.
During the searches, numerous pieces of evidence were seized. Among the main suspect, several accounts were frozen and cash was seized. An asset freeze of over four and a half million euros had been obtained against him. Sixty customs officers were involved in the raid.
- The ongoing Attack on Ukraine has led to stricter international sanctions, including an EU embargo on luxury car exports to Russia.
- Despite these sanctions and the risk of commercial violations, some car dealers in Rhineland-Palatinate are reportedly evading export limitations, disguising deliveries as shipments to neighboring countries like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, or Turkey.
