The Czech Republic has convicted a man who tried to export three premium cars to Russia in 2022. He became the first Czech national who was convicted for violating anti-Russian sanctions. This was reported by Czech Radio.
The convict is a businessman of Russian origin, Vladimir Likhutin, who, in May 2022, tried to smuggle three premium cars—Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW—to Russia.
Since March 2022, the EU has banned the export of cars worth more than 50 thousand euros to Russia, with the exception of ambulances.
According to the court’s verdict, the man must pay a fine of 300 thousand kroons (about 12.5 thousand dollars) for the offense. The court also bans him from trading in motor vehicles for the next 20 months.
Additionally, the businessman must pay the state around 132 thousand euros that he received in advance for the vehicles in question from Russian clients.