The homes of three suspects were also searched and records, documents and electronic equipment were seized.
The German authorities conducted searches today at the premises of three companies, which were allegedly violating them sanctions which has been imposed by European Union in Russiaaccording to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.
The homes of three suspects were also searched and records, documents and electronic equipment were seized. Authorities have not released the names of the suspects or the companies.
A person with knowledge of the case said one of the three companies being investigated was Smart Impex GmbH, a German wholesaler of IT and communications technology products. German authorities suspect that he circumvented the embargo on the sale of electronic components to Russia through another company in Turkey.
Reuters was unable to reach the company or its director, Gokturk Agvaz, today. In December, the agency reported that in March 2022, Agvaz founded Azu International Ltd Sti, a company trading such products in Turkey, with others. Azu International exported at least $20 million worth of components to Russia last year, including US-made computer microchips, according to Russian customs data. Some items went to a customer in Moscow who had received US and non-US products from Smart Impex prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Agvaz told Reuters in October that Smart Impex had halted exports to Russia, complying with restrictions set by the EU, but was selling products to Turkey, which is not part of the EU and does not apply many of Moscow’s sanctions. When asked about Azu International’s sales in Russia, he replied that “this is a business secret.”
The CEO of Smart Impex resigned in December after reading the Reuters article. He said in a letter to two of his associates that he was unaware that Smart Impex’s deliveries to Azu were destined for Russia.
Smart Impex, in a written response to the German television program ARD MONITOR, which published an article about the company today, said that the allegations are being investigated in detail and that checks so far show that the products exported to Russia were not subject to in sanctions.
RES-EMP
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