Who and How Imported $75 Million Worth of Premium Cars into Russia in Spite of Sanctions — An Investigation

TriTrace Investigations examined imports of Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, and Rolls-Royce vehicles into Russia.

This is the first such study of sanctioned premium vehicles in Russia. TriTrace Investigations was able to identify both the intermediary companies involved in parallel imports (including those operating within Europe) and the end recipients. These include families of sanctioned oligarchs, government contractors, senior management of defense enterprises, and an investor from Crimea.

Key findings

1. Since the announcement of EU and UK sanctions on luxury goods (March 15, 2022), at least 214 vehicles of the specified brands worth a total of $75 million have been imported into Russia;
2. The main intermediary countries for these imports are: Belarus (64), Turkey (45), Kazakhstan (41), Italy (14), and Armenia (10). More than half of the vehicles (116 out of 206) were imported via EAEU countries;
3. Almost half of the vehicles were paid for in foreign currency. 84 out of 214 vehicles were paid for in euros, and another 20 in U.S. dollars, which implies potential traceability of these transactions by European and U.S. regulators and financial institutions.

Data sources and timeframe

The analysis is based on data on the movement of goods across the EAEU border — the most comprehensive available database on premium car imports circumventing sanctions. Actual volumes may be higher due to undeclared shipments (smuggling).

The study covers the period from March 15, 2022, through January 2025 inclusive. Since March 15, 2022, the EU and the United Kingdom have banned both direct and indirect supplies of luxury vehicles to Russia, including exports via third countries.

Full report is available here: https://tritrace.io/en/cases/how-russia-buys-supercars-under-sanctions