Journalists from the Finnish Yle found out how luxury cars are exported through Finland for sale in Russia, bypassing sanctions. To do this, the publication's employees attached radio beacons to two cars.
As stated in the Yle investigation, journalists received a tip according to which expensive cars were loaded onto ships in Germany, transported to Finland, and then smuggled to Russia, despite to EU sanctions. In particular, deliveries are carried out through the Finnish port of Kotka.
To verify this information, journalists followed a car transporter heading towards the Russian border with two luxury cars — a dark blue BMW X3 and a white Lexus RX350. A radio beacon was later attached to the cars to track their movements using a mobile application.
According to Yle, after crossing the border, the cars went first to St. Petersburg and then to Moscow — to a place similar to a collection point for new cars. A few weeks later the cars ended up in Tomsk: the Lexus was in a local car dealership, and the BMW was moving around the city — it had probably already been sold.
Journalists came to the conclusion that Finland has become a transit country for the export of luxury cars to Russia. The white Lexus that the publication was following actually came from Canada — this is confirmed by a Tomsk car dealer who put the car up for sale.
Border guards, in a conversation with Yle, noted that despite the ban on the import of cars into Russia, the transportation of cars through this country is still legal. According to the documents, the cars being sold can transit through Russia — for example, for sale in Kazakhstan.
Finnish customs told the publication that in some cases they are trying to import cars into Russia using double documentation. Thus, Finnish customs officers are shown documents according to which the cargo is sent to Central Asia, while the driver of the car transporter may have another document — this time for Russian customs. It says that the cargo is destined for Russia.
Previously, due to the outbreak of a full-scale war with Ukraine, the European Union imposed sanctions against Russia — according to the restrictions, the import of luxury goods and cars costing more than 50 thousand euros, electric and hybrid cars, as well as cars with an engine capacity of more than 1.9 liters.