German authorities raided companies suspected of violating Russian sanctions – #German #authorities #raided #companies #suspected #violating #Russian #sanctions
February 9 (Reuters) – German officials Europe The premises of three companies were searched early Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation into possible violations of EU sanctions against Russia, prosecutors said.
The raids cost Russia billions in December despite Western export restrictions and producer bans dollars after a Reuters investigation into the supply chain that continues to ship electronic components worth
German authorities also searched the homes of the three suspects, according to the statement, which did not name the companies or individuals. The statement notes that records, documents and IT equipment were seized.
One of the three companies wanted by prosecutors is Smart Impex GmbH, a German wholesaler of IT products suspected of evading sanctions on electronic components through an intermediary company in Turkey, a person familiar with the case said.
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Reuters could not reach Smart Impex or its manager Göktürk Agvaz by phone on Thursday for comment. The names of the other two companies or the three suspects could not be identified.
Reuters reported in December that Agvaz founded Azu International Ltd Sti, a company engaged in the wholesale sale of IT products in Turkey, in March 2022. Azu International last year to Russia at least 20 million dollars worth of components, including USA exported computer chips made by manufacturers. , Russia customs according to his records. Some say that before Russia invaded Ukraine last February from Smart Impex, American and non-U.S.USA He went to the Moscow customer who bought his products.
Agvaz told Reuters in October that Smart Impex had suspended exports to Russia to comply with EU trade restrictions, but had sold goods to non-EU Turkey, which does not impose many of the Western sanctions against Moscow. At that time, Agvaz answered the question about the sale of “Azu International” to Russia: “This is our business secret.”
Smart Impex’s managing director resigned in December after reading the Reuters article and subsequent discussions with lawyers, according to a letter he wrote to two other partners that month. Correspondence is available at handelsregister.de, the public register of German companies. The resigned partner wrote that deliveries from Smart Impex to Azu Russia was not aware that it was intended for and he Smart Impex’s Russia assumed that his business stopped at “the beginning of Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine”.
Smart Impex said in a written response to German TV show ARD MONITOR, which published an article about the company today, that the allegations have been investigated in detail and that its inspections so far show that the goods it exports to Russia are not the subject. sanctions.
Reporting by Matthias Inverardi in Düsseldorf and Steve Stecklow in London, writing by Miranda Murray; Edited by Janet McBride
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Steve Stecklow
2023-02-10 03:18:47
Source – reuters
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