2 companies export goods worth €3m to Russia violating sanction

Finnish Customs investigated into a criminal case regarding violation of sanction against Russia and found that two Finnish companies exported various goods worth about three million euros to Russia violating the sanction.

The exported products- electronics, drones and equipment classified as defence materiel- were transited through Russia and cleared for export to other locations, said Customs in a press release on Tuesday.

During this time, the European Union has initiated extensive sanctions against Russia due to the war of attack in Ukraine.

The investigated criminal cases have entailed an aggravated regulation offence and an export offence involving defence materiel. There are altogether six criminal suspects, one of whom has been detained since September.

The case will undergo consideration of charges in December.

Customs has investigated the two Finnish companies with regard to more than thirty occasions of export or attempted export involving sanctioned products, such as microcontrollers and semiconductor devices.

Customs suspects that these products, worth more than 600 000 euros, have ended up in Russia.

Furthermore, Customs suspects that almost 3 500 unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, have ended up in Russia. The products had been cleared for export to another country. The drones were worth more than two million euros.

The same criminal case also involves a suspected transit of equipment designed for stopping drones that is classified as defence materiel.

The transit of the products would have required a permit for transiting defence materiel; however, the company in question did not apply for such a permit. Customs suspects that also these products with a total value of 350 000 euros ended up in Russia.

One individual is responsible for both of the companies under investigation. Customs suspects that one of the companies saw to acquisitions and was tasked with purchasing sanctioned products. Correspondingly, the other company under investigation saw to forwarding the goods to Russia.

“Our preliminary investigation indicates that the activity has been run in Russia. The scenario was based on an extensive network of internationally operated businesses through which the activity was funded, for example from Russia,” said Hannu Sinkkonen, Director of Enforcement, Finnish Customs.

“In the preliminary investigation, we have cooperated with authorities in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as with Europol, the EU law enforcement authority. Domestically, we have cooperated especially with the Security and Intelligence Service,” Sinkkonen added.