Spanish police seize 13 tons of banned chemicals bound for Russia
The chemicals were supplied to Russia through a shell company run by Russian citizens. The police noted that the scheme involved a subsidiary company in Moscow, as well as several shell companies, in particular in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to Radio Liberty.
According to Spanish law enforcement officials, they "detained four suspected members of a criminal group that, according to the investigation, tried to circumvent Western sanctions by illegally supplying chemical products to Russia through a shell company run by "citizens of Russian origin."
The detainees are accused of smuggling prohibited goods, according to the Spanish police.
"The investigation proved that chemicals under international sanctions, some of which are possible precursors of chemical weapons or nerve agents, had been exported in the past through a structure involving this company," the police said in a joint statement.
However, it was not reported what chemicals were seized during the operation.
Law enforcement officials said that "the Spanish company has created a complex logistics and financial network for the export of chemical products to Russia that have been subject to international sanctions."
It has a subsidiary company in Moscow that ultimately received the chemicals, as well as several front companies in countries such as Armenia and Kyrgyzstan to hide the true destination for the supply of goods.
According to law enforcement, the goods were later redirected to Russia.
It is noted that the chemicals were found inside a container in the port of Barcelona, and four suspects were detained in neighboring villages.
As a reminder, the European Union, which has imposed large-scale sanctions against Russia since 2022, says it is "taking measures to restrict companies that sell dual-use goods to Russia through Central Asian countries to circumvent sanctions."
