Despite sanctions, a Dutch businessman has been earning millions by exporting Western goods to Russia through a complex scheme involving third countries. Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, 60, pleaded guilty in December for his role in smuggling sophisticated U.S. avionics equipment to Russia via intermediary companies in Armenia, Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates.
He filed false export forms and used foreign bank accounts to funnel money from Russian customers to his company KanRus Trading. While export earnings from trade with Russia declined by 42% in 2022, the Netherlands also saw a 49% increase in exports to Kazakhstan, another country with close ties to Russia[1][2].
Citations:
[1] https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240619-despite-sanctions-russia-still-gets-hands-on-western-goods
[2] https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2023/44/earnings-from-exports-to-russia-almost-halved
[3] https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2404
[4] https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/sanctions-against-russia/sanctions-against-russia-explained/
[5] https://www.publiceye.ch/en/topics/ukraine/commodity-trading-with-russia/russian-oil-trade-in-switzerland-a-fake-farewell
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DynxM7sRVGc