Germany investigates sale of luxury cars in Russia despite sanctions

German prosecutors are investigating a car dealer who sold luxury cars to Russia despite sanctions.

As reported by Rheinische Post, despite the prohibition of export, an independent vehicle dealer sold and exported multiple premium cars to Russia totalling more than €4 million.

According to the customs investigation department and the prosecutor's office, the owner of a car dealership in Königswinter near Bonn pretended to legitimately export these vehicles to foreign nations.

He is currently being investigated on accusations of violating the Foreign Trade Act.

At the end of September, investigators performed two searches and gathered evidence.

They also seized two luxury cars as part of the asset seizure, the report stated. The investigation is underway.

Sky News has exposed a complicated mechanism for bringing cars into Russia from Georgia, despite the fact that the UK and EU sanctions regimes prohibit such imports.

Previously, a journalistic investigation revealed that drones, computer processors, GPS devices, memory cards, and other dual-use commodities are still being delivered to Russia through Georgia, despite the Georgian authorities' claims that they had closed loopholes to avoid Western sanctions.

In recent months, the West has placed a greater emphasis on tightening loopholes that allow Russia to circumvent sanctions.