May 23, Pozirk. The European Union plans to tighten sanctions against Minsk and close the loopholes that allow Russia to import luxury vehicles, Financial Times (FT) reported.
New sanctions may also apply to exports of technologies and goods that can have military use.
By January, EU-Belarus automotive exports, originating mostly from Germany and Poland, soared to $268 million from $50 million recorded two years ago. EU customs officials believe Belarusian companies are intermediaries in Russian smuggling chains.
Last year, Belarusian suppliers facilitated delivery to Russia of at least 28 Maybachs with an average price of $217,000 each, according to Russian data.
“The folks around [Alaksandar] Łukašenka who had ties to Russia were big beneficiaries of this. They were enriching themselves,” FT cited Vytis Jurkonis of the Vilnius-based Freedom House think-tank.
The EU has been planning to expand its sanctions against Belarus since early May, reports said. New restrictions may ban EU companies from selling luxury goods, maritime navigation equipment, as well as goods and technology for the oil and gas industry. Sanctions may also apply to Belarusian exports of gold, oil, gas and diamonds.
In March, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania stopped allowing cars with an engine capacity of more than 1.9 liters and worth more than €50,000, to enter Belarus. Warsaw described the move as “an effective measure to eradicate the practice of sanctions evasion.”
