Despite sanctions, luxury cars from Europe still find their way to Russia

British reporters in Georgia, at the Lars checkpoint bordering Russia, found a line of trucks waiting for customs clearance to cross into Russia.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, G7 countries, including Britain, imposed sanctions on Russia, targeting dual-use goods and luxury items. While exports of these goods to Russia seem to have flatlined, shipments to neighboring countries have unexpectedly spiked.

Sanctions experts suggest that these Caucasus countries are likely being used as conduits to funnel banned goods into Russia, but the trail goes cold once these vehicles enter the region.

Over two days of observation, journalists identified a group of men handling the delivery of cars to the border — sometimes from Tbilisi car dealerships or from the Black Sea ports of Poti and Batumi. They don’t always know where the cars originally come from — whether straight from Europe or from neighboring Caucasus countries, like Azerbaijan.

Once at the border, the cars sit in parking lots for a few days while the necessary paperwork is completed. Completing these documents can be tricky, as Georgia has also sanctioned car imports into Russia. However, numerous loopholes still allow cars to cross the border.

One method involves registering and clearing the cars in Armenia before heading to the Lars checkpoint. In some cases, drivers claim they are taking the cars through Russia to Kyrgyzstan.

Once given transit plates, these cars are driven over the border. Since Georgians and Russians can travel visa-free between their countries, the drivers simply drop the cars off on the Russian side, where another group picks them up, and then the drivers return to Georgia in other vehicles.

The key to this scheme is that no one involved can be directly accused of breaking the law. But when pieced together, this is clearly a violation of European sanctions. Additionally, the cars don’t appear in customs data — statistically, they arrive in Georgia or Azerbaijan and then vanish.

This is just one of many routes used to get sanctioned goods into Russia. According to journalists, European sanctions are failing — Russia’s economy remains stable, Moscow isn't facing a goods shortage, and countries like Georgia and Azerbaijan are profiting by helping circumvent sanctions.

• Meanwhile, on Tuesday, September 24, New Zealand’s Foreign Minister announced fresh sanctions against individuals in Belarus and Russia in response to the illegal invasion of Ukraine.