Estonian luxury car dealers suspected of illegal exports to Russia

German authorities seized assets worth millions of euros during the searches, including luxury cars. Photo: Esseni tollijuurdlusbüroo

The Würzburg Prosecutor's Office in Germany has initiated a criminal investigation against the head of a local car dealership suspected of illegally exporting luxury cars to Russia, and at the request of the German authorities, investigators also searched the premises of two Estonian companies, Postimees reports.

Senior Prosecutor Tobias Kostuch from the Würzburg Prosecutor's Office stated that the companies searched in Estonia are suspected of involvement in illegal luxury car deliveries to Russia.

«We cannot disclose the names of the companies or individuals subjected to the searches this time due to data protection regulations,» Kostuch added.

The Würzburg Prosecutor's Office, in cooperation with the Essen Customs Investigation Office, launched a criminal investigation in September against a company located in the Aschaffenburg area of Bavaria. The prosecution suspects that the company sold and transported a significant number of luxury cars to Russia in violation of export restrictions, with a total value exceeding 10 million euros.

On Sept. 17, investigators conducted multiple searches in the Aschaffenburg area, confiscating nearly three million euros' worth of assets in addition to the collected evidence

Based on the evidence, the prosecution requested the court to take the head of the company, aged 47, into custody, a request the court approved. Charges were also filed against a 40-year-old woman from the Aschaffenburg area.

On Oct. 7, officials from the Essen Customs Investigation Office, in collaboration with their counterparts from Frankfurt, carried out searches of three additional locations in the Aschaffenburg area and gathered further evidence. During these operations, customs officials seized an additional 4.3 million euros' worth of assets.

Simultaneously, authorities in Estonia searched two companies and confiscated extensive evidence.

Spokespeople for the Estonian Office of the Prosecutor General said that since the criminal case had been initiated by German authorities, only German officials are providing comments on the matter.