Belarusian-owned company in Poland fined $5.5 million for smuggling luxury cars into Russia
The Małopolska Customs and Tax Office in Krakow (MUCS) has uncovered an illegal scheme for exporting luxury cars to a market under EU sanctions. The imposed fine is colossal. The firm is owned by Belarusians, reports the Polish Ministry of Finance.
The company, managed by citizens of Belarus, was engaged in purchasing expensive cars of prestigious brands in Western European countries in 2022-2023. After this, the cars were exported from the territory of the European Union.
In the transport documents, other countries were indicated as destinations, however, in reality, the cars ended up in the Russian Federation. The route passed through Poland and Lithuania to Belarus, and from there to Russia.
In this way, more than 100 cars were trafficked. The value of the cars exceeds 49 million zlotys (approximately 13 million dollars).
Polish inspectors concluded that the company's management acted consciously and deliberately circumvented sanctions. As a result, an administrative fine of the maximum amount — 20 million zlotys (about 5.5 million dollars) — was imposed on the firm.
This is one of the largest such cases in Poland.