picture alliance/dpa | Sergei Savostyanov | Getty Images / SimpleImages | Business Insider
EU sanctions have largely cut Russia off from the regular flow of goods. Nevertheless, coveted branded goods from Germany still find their way into Putin’s empire – including original spare parts for luxurious cars.
Weeks of research by Business Insider have revealed one of the networks apparently secretly bringing original Porsche, BMW or Mercedes parts from Germany to Russia. An inconspicuous warehouse in Berlin-Tempelhof plays a central role.
The Porsche board of directors reacted to the revelation and immediately set up a high-ranking task force to investigate the parts deliveries internally.
The western economy acted decisively. Few weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, hundreds of corporations around the world severed their business ties with Putin’s empire. The Germans too automaker BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen withdrew, gave up production facilities and wrote off billions. “As long as there is war, there will be no deliveries,” said Porsche boss Oliver Blume at the time.
But even a year later, in the Ukraine people are still shooting and killing, collector’s cars or trucks with original car parts from Porsche and Co. drive across the largest country in the world. Such illegal deliveries used to be called parallel imports. Today, the black market is Vladimir Putin’s only chance sanctions to soften.