UK arrests director of company that supplied perfumes to russia

A supplier of perfumes to Harrods is facing a criminal investigation after continuing to sell his high-value products to russia, in a sign that luxury goods are still being sent to the country in breach of UK sanctions.

Crisp’s firm manufactured and sold a range of expensive perfumes called Boadicea The Victorious that retail at Harrods and Selfridges department stores as well as the Emirates airline priced as much as £900 for 100ml, according to the ruling. Harrods itself sent Crisp a warning about trading with Russia in May 2022.

Company director, David Crisp, is accused of knowingly breaking the export bans after continuing to offer his perfumes to russia well into 2023, according to a London civil court ruling published last week. Evidence put before the court apparently showed Crisp had told an undercover private investigator that the russian market was doing “really well” and that he ignored “government edicts.”

Details of the allegations emerged from the court case, brought by a fellow director who successfully pushed to replace Crisp on the board of the perfume company.

The ruling also said that Crisp was arrested by UK tax authorities in October last year on suspicion of breaching the russian sanctions and remains under criminal investigation. He has not been charged with any crime.

It’s the first public criminal investigation by HM Revenue & Customs for sanctions breaches revealed since russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Crisp accepts that he continued to ship the perfumes to russia but said he didn’t realize that he’d breached rules that banned the sales of the expensive goods, the judge wrote in the decision. Lawyers told the judge he had not understood the limits that were imposed on the price per volume of perfumes.

Crisp’s lawyer said he planned to appeal the decision “at the earliest opportunity.”

Source: Bloomberg