Western luxury cars are making their way to Russia via Georgia, even though they technically shouldn’t be allowed to after sanctions were imposed on Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine, reports British station Sky News. It explains that one way is to register the cars and clear customs in Armenia before they reach a checkpoint in the north.
Sky News noted a few months ago, based on analysed data, that since the imposition of sanctions, British car exports have actually fallen to zero, but at the same time their exports to Azerbaijan increased by 1,860 percent. Now its journalist had the opportunity to observe with his own eyes how luxury cars, not only those of British production, make their way through the Caucasus to Russia.
He described that during his stay in Georgia His attention was drawn to huge convoys of trucks carrying all kinds of goods towards its northern neighbor, Russia, and near the only checkpoint on the border between the two countries, in Lars, he saw huge informal parking lots with luxury cars: Mercedes, BMW, Lexus and Range Rover.
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He spent two days near the border, he said, observing the process by which cars and other trucks were brought there and then shipped to Russia. He spoke to many people involved in the trade, uncovering a complex but elaborate system set up to transport European cars to Russia.
Car registration and customs clearance in Armenia
“One group of men is tasked with bringing cars to the border – sometimes from showrooms in the capital, Tbilisi, sometimes from the Black Sea ports of Poti or Batumi. Usually they don't know where the cars come from – whether directly from countries like the UK or via other Caucasus countries like Azerbaijan,” he described.
“After bringing the cars to the border, they leave them in parking lots, where they stand for several days until the necessary documents are filled out. These documents are not completed without complications: when European countries imposed sanctions, Georgia introduced its own bans on sending cars to Russia. However, there are many loopholes that allow cars to be transported anyway,” he explained.
Luxury brand cars are coming to RussiaShutterstock
He pointed out that one way is to register cars and clear customs in Armeniabefore they reach the checkpoint in Lars north. Those driving cars into Russia are sometimes advised to say they are only going through Russia to Kyrgyzstanalthough everyone, including the police and Georgian border guards, knows that they will remain in Russia.
“Either way, these cars are eventually issued transit license plates and allowed to cross the border. And since Georgians can travel to Russia without a visa and vice versa, getting the cars across the border is simply a matter of bringing them in, leaving the car on the other side where it will be picked up by another group of men, and then driving back to Georgia,” he described.
Georgia and Azerbaijan act as an informal trade channel
He noted two key issues with this system: first, while the whole thing is a sanctions violation, no single person in the chain can be easily charged with violating them, and second, the cars do not appear in customs records – technically they simply arrive in Azerbaijan or Georgia and then disappear.
As the Sky News journalist noted, if goods as difficult to conceal as cars are being smuggled into Russia, it is safe to assume that the same is true of other goods needed by the Russian regime to wage war.
“The Russian economy remains strong, Moscow has no shortage of both basic and non-basic goods, and along the way, Caucasus states like Georgia and Azerbaijan have seen tremendous growth, acting as an informal trade channel. Everyone wins – except the Ukrainians,” he said.
Main image source: Shutterstock