German police carried out raids against a suspected car-smuggling ring on Wednesday that illegally sold high-end German vehicles to Russia in violation of strict EU sanctions.
A 46-year-old Belarusian woman was arrested and five vehicles seized as part of the raids, which targeted locations in Berlin and in the district of Landshut in the southern German state of Bavaria.
Prosecutors in Berlin said they believe the woman is a flight risk and will ask a magistrate to order her kept in custody as the case moves forward.
According to the investigations so far, 192 cars with a total value of around €21.4 million ($26.3 million) are involved, police said.
In addition to the woman, police are also investigating two suspected accomplices for trying to evade the sanctions imposed on Russia over the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The Berlin public prosecutor’s office said that the trio is believed to have exported numerous cars to Russia since April 5, 2022.
The EU outlawed exports of luxury goods to Russia on March 15, 2022, including cars valued at €50,000 or more. Those sanctions were tightened on June 24, 2023, to ban the sale of any car to Russia, no matter the value.
In order to circumvent the EU sanctions, the car dealer allegedly faked paperwork to give the impression that the vehicles were being exported to Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
However, according to the investigations, the cars were actually registered directly in Russia.
A total of 186 vehicles are said to have ended up in Russia in violation of the sanctions.