“Shadow Parcels”: How Russia Created a Scheme to Evade EU Sanctions Through a Logistics Company
Фото: pixabay
Journalists have found that sanctioned European goods continue to enter Russia through a scheme involving postal shipments from Germany. The cargo is regularly delivered to Moscow via a roundabout route through several countries.
This is reported by Bild .
According to journalists, hundreds of tons of mail are systematically sent from Berlin to Moscow. A key role in this scheme is played by a logistics company registered in late 2022 and formally tied only to a mailbox in Cologne.
As journalists have learned, the parcels are first taken to a warehouse near Berlin-Brandenburg Airport. From there, trucks head directly to Russia via Poland and Belarus.
The journalists drew special attention to the fact that the car of the former managing director of RusPost GmbH, who headed the subsidiary of Russian Post in Berlin from 2014 to 2022, is regularly parked near the warehouse. According to the publication, after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he allegedly resigned, but the journalists found evidence that Dmitry V. now runs a logistics company that sends goods to Russia.
As part of the experiment, journalists sent 5 parcels containing sanctioned electronic components, declaring them as unusable items. The shipping cost was 26 euros per parcel weighing up to 2 kilograms, and all shipments arrived in Moscow without any problems. The route of the parcels was tracked using GPS beacons.
Journalists also recorded the use of Uzbek mail, which does not have a permit to operate in Germany, during transportation. German authorities are currently investigating a possible violation of the law.
The publication asked the logistics company about possible circumvention of EU sanctions. In response, the postal service noted that “control mechanisms are designed in such a way that violations of EU sanctions are practically impossible,” but at the same time admitted the possibility of “false statements.”
By the way, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has released information about sixty-eight new foreign components discovered in missiles and drones used by Russia to attack Ukrainian energy . The update highlights the enemy’s dependence on foreign-made chips and components and the need to review export control practices.
Recall that the Iskander missile, which Russian troops used during the attack on the building of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, consisted of more than 30 foreign-made parts , including components from the USA, Great Britain, and Japan.
It was previously reported that a new Russian drone designed to deceive Ukrainian air defenses turned out to be made entirely of Chinese components.
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