Dutchman earns millions by exporting Western goods to Russia

Dutchman earns millions by exporting Western goods to Russia

A Dutch businessman is earning millions of euros by exporting products from brands such as Nike and Lego to Russia.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, many Western brands have withdrawn from Russia. Sanctions by Western countries prohibit the export to Russia of products that can be used to make weapons. An export of products from brands like Reebok, Nike and Lego do not fall under these sanctions, according to Wijnand Herinckx, a 40-year-old Dutch entrepreneur living in Moscow. And with those exports, he earns millions of euros.

The man uses middlemen with no obvious connections to Russia as buyers, then ships the goods to Russia, often via Turkey, and eventually delivers them to retailers in Russia, Reuters news agency found out.

"Nike doesn't want their products to be shipped to Russia, but they don't tell us not to do it either," the businessman said. His company is not the only one circumventing sanctions in this way and still getting Western products sold in Russia.

(Fausto by Tagtik/Source: Reuters via HLN/Illustration picture: Deepal Tamang on Unsplash)

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