Almost €6 million worth of goods could have been exported from Finland to Russia, bypassing sanctions. Helsinki investigates

In Finland, the customs service is investigating illegal shipments of goods to Russia in circumvention of European sanctions worth about €5.9 million.

This is reported by the Finnish broadcaster Yle.

The investigation claims that the companies in question are from eastern Finland: one was responsible for export operations, the other for storage of goods. The export company indicated in a notification to customs that the goods were being sent to Kazakhstan and Turkey, but, according to investigators, they ended up in Russia.

In this way, in 2022-2023, these companies exported hydraulic pumps, engines, and various valves to the Russian Federation. All this happened in circumvention of sanctions, since the export of these goods to the Russian Federation has been prohibited since July 2022.

The case involves two suspects, one of whom is a defendant in four other sanctions violation cases. The case will be transferred to the Eastern Finland Prosecutorʼs Office by the end of the year.

• On July 1, the South Karelia District Court in Finland sentenced an entrepreneur for the first time for violating EU sanctions against Russia. It sentenced the CEO of “Idä Liikenteenvälitys IL Oy” Risto Riihimäki to 3 years and 8 months in prison for illegally exporting 164 trucks and trailers to Russia in 2022–2023.

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