The number of companies and stakeholders in the Netherlands that manage to successfully evade the sanctions imposed on Russia is gradually increasing, the Dutch prosecutor’s office said. NL Times reports.
According to the country’s oversight body, the key to circumventing sanctions is the transportation of goods to states close to Russia. This is due to the fact that although exports from EU countries to Russia fell sharply after the imposition of sanctions, the same cannot be said for exports to countries close to Russia.
According to United Nations trade data, for example, between March and November 2022 alone, exports to Kyrgyzstan from the Netherlands increased by 142 percent compared to 2021. Over the past year, the increase in exports from Kyrgyzstan to Russia also increased by 233 percent.
The Attorney General’s Office of the Netherlands suspects that the number of companies circumventing sanctions will increase. «It should be expected that the longer the sanctions are in force, the more sanctions will be evaded,» the Attorney General’s Office press service said, adding that in the case when another country is indicated on the delivery document, it is difficult to prove that the goods are intended for Russia.