Three years of reporting, funded by our readers — become a member now and help us prepare for 2025.
Goal: 1,000 new members for our birthday. Gift a membership to your friend and help us prepare for what 2025 might bring.
Become a member Gift membership
Skip to content
Edit post

Russian citizen sentenced by Dutch court to 18 months in prison for sanctions evasion

by Nate Ostiller November 1, 2023 4:11 PM 2 min read
The Ukrainian, the EU and other EU countries' flags in front of the European Parliament on July 28, 2023 in Brussels, Belgium. (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

A court in the Dutch city of Rotterdam sentenced a Russian businessman to 18 months in prison and fined his company 200,000 euros for breaking EU-imposed sanctions against Russia, Reuters said, citing a court report released on Oct. 31.

The suspect in question, a Russian citizen named Dmitri K by prosecutors, was tried in absentia because it is thought that he had fled the country after being initially charged in 2022.

The man was convicted for his role in transporting dual-use technologies, such as microchips and other electronic goods, via foreign companies in order to disguise that the intended final destination was Russia.

According to the court documents, Dmitri K forged order forms so that it would appear as if the goods were being shipped to a company in the Maldives, as well as a fake company registered in Ukraine.

The exported goods can have both civilian and military uses and are the subject of sanctions that ban their transport to Russia.

Dmitri K had been involved in the import/export of such dual-use goods for more than six years, the court said, and was fully aware that he was violating sanctions through his actions.

It is unclear if Dmitri K or his company were actively involved in exporting goods that would be eventually used by the Russian military or Russia's defense industry, but this ultimately proved to be irrelevant, as the act of violating sanctions alone constituted a punishable offense.

The use of companies in third-party countries has allowed Western-made components used in Russian military hardware to continue to flow to Russia despite the wide-ranging sanctions imposed on their export.

The EU is considering a 12th round of sanctions against Russia that will, in part, aim to plug the holes that have made the circumvention of sanctions possible.

Kyiv’s frustration boils as flow of Western chips for Russian missiles continues uninterrupted
Destroyed apartments, burnt-out cars, lives upturned or extinguished altogether: Russia’s June 13 missile attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih was, in many ways, nothing out of the ordinary for wartime Ukraine. The evening after the attack, which killed 13 civilians, President Volodymyr Zelensky came o…

Three years of reporting, funded by our readers.
Millions read the Kyiv Independent, but only one in 10,000 readers makes a financial contribution. Thanks to our community we've been able to keep our reporting free and accessible to everyone. For our third birthday, we're looking for 1,000 new members to help fund our mission and to help us prepare for what 2025 might bring.
Three years. Millions of readers. All thanks to 12,000 supporters.
It’s thanks to readers like you that we can celebrate another birthday this November. We’re looking for another 1,000 members to help fund our mission, keep our journalism accessible for all, and prepare for whatever 2025 might bring. Consider gifting a membership today or help us spread the word.
Help us get 1,000 new members!
Become a member Gift membership
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

10:00 AM

US says North Korean troops join combat alongside Russia.

"Today I can confirm that over 10,000 (North Korean) soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia, and most of them have moved to the far western Kursk Oblast, where they have begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces," spokesperson Vedant Patel said.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.