BMW sacked employees who circumvented sanctions by supplying cars to Russia

German carmaker BMW announced on 22 December that it had discovered irregularities in the export of cars from its Hanover branch to Russia and subsequently fired the employees involved. As DW reported, these irregularities were discovered through internal controls. Further sales of the vehicles have been stopped.

Here's What We Know

Business Insider previously reported that more than 100 premium cars were delivered from Germany to Russian buyers despite the ongoing sanctions against Russia. Thus BMW admitted that deliveries of the cars did take place.

International trade with Russia is subject to various sanctions, including those imposed by the European Union. The sanctions were imposed at the beginning of 2022 due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. In particular, the supply of cars to Russian customers is under strict embargo.

Nevertheless, new cars continue to enter the Russian Federation through so-called grey imports. In August, a journalistic investigation by German broadcaster ARD found that new cars from German manufacturers BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen were being delivered and offered for free sale in Russia despite the sanctions. The BMW Group has assured that it is trying to prevent such imports through various measures.

Source: DW