Uncovering Finnish Sanctions Shenanigans
Finnish customs has been scrutinizing thousands of trucks crossing the border into Russia, uncovering suspected sanctions violations in around one-third of them. This is no small feat, but it's also not simple to classify these breaches. Finnish companies are cleverly circumventing the EU's sanctions against Russia, and they're not the only ones using Helsinki as a transshipment point.
A Finnish firm named HD-Parts, based in Vantaa, has exported thousands of truck spare parts worth hundreds of thousands of euros to Russia, despite EU sanctions. These parts are primarily for Scania and Volvo trucks. Russia relies heavily on these spare parts from abroad, and HD-Parts denies any wrongdoing.
According to investigative reports, another Finnish company has also been illegally exporting trucks to Russia. Additionally, Russian customs data reveals that numerous companies, including the Estonian company Elmec Trade, which is sanctioned by the US, have sent sanctioned goods to Russia via Helsinki in numerous instances.
The Scale of the Problem
Finland's Foreign Minister, Elina Valtonen, confirmed that the Finnish government is aware of sanctions violations and evasion. Finnish customs and police have launched over 600 investigations into these offenses, for which a prison sentence of up to four years can currently be imposed. The EU is currently preparing a criminal sanctions directive that would increase the penalty to up to five years.
Norwegian sanctions expert Erlend Bjørtvedt views Helsinki as one of Northern Europe's largest transshipment points for sanctioned goods. According to him, HD-Parts is one of the Western exporters with the highest number of illegal shipments to Russia, alongside Elmec from Estonia.
The Challenges
Customs Director Sami Rakshit admitted that exporting trucks and their parts to Russia is illegal. However, customs can't open and check all deliveries. With around 100 trucks crossing the Finnish-Russian border daily, it's a daunting task. Since March 2022, Finnish customs have detected around 1,000 suspected sanctions violations in around 3,000 physical checks.
Enforcing sanctions is challenging due to transit traffic, which is still permitted for many products to countries like Kazakhstan. According to Rakshit, if there's a need for supplies, there's always a supplier, much like the illegal drug trade.
Sanctions expert Mikael Wigell suspects that most of the companies involved in sanctions violations were founded by Russians or are controlled by Russia. Russia has built an extensive network of companies that break sanctions in Europe, particularly Finland.
Conclusion
The EU is closely monitoring Finland's handling of sanctions against Russia due to the high number of suspected violations, particularly in the logistics sector. Despite Finland's efforts, the attack on Ukraine has resulted in an increase in sanctions crimes. The EU is considering strengthening penalties for sanctions violations, following allegations that Finland is serving as a transshipment point for sanctioned goods.
