Did a car dealer from the Rhineland-Palatinate ignore sanctions against russia?

The 53-year-old man is accused of selling and delivering more than 150 expensive cars to russia and Belarus. This is currently prohibited by EU sanctions against russia. Customs investigators conducted the searches a week ago, the Customs Investigation Department said on Wednesday. They did so early in the morning on January 16 at six addresses.

Investigators searched the car dealer's premises in Ludwigshafen, the Rhineland-Palatinate region and Mannheim. They not only seized business documents. Assets were also confiscated. In particular, we are talking about property worth more than 500,000 euros: 250,000 euros in cash and four luxury cars, including a luxury motorhome.

The 53-year-old man was issued a so-called “property seizure warrant” totaling 7.5 million euros. Such an arrest is a kind of “money arrest warrant”. This was reported by a customs spokesman. According to the investigation, the amount of money the car dealer has illegally imported to date is about 7.5 million euros.

The purpose of freezing assets is to ensure their safety. And to do so before a possible trial against the 53-year-old man. The investigation is being conducted by the Kaiserslautern prosecutor's office.

According to a spokesperson for the Customs Investigation Office in Frankfurt am Main, there is no direct connection with similar cases in Hermersheim, Neustadt and the Rhine-Pfalz district, where searches were also conducted. This is because there are suspicions that numerous luxury cars were illegally sold to russia. According to customs, there are many such cases across Germany. However, it is not about one gang, but about individual offenders.

Source: SWR