A 56-year-old entrepreneur from Lohra in Germany was sentenced to five years in prison by the Marburg Regional Court on 8 July 2025. The reason: he exported high-priced vehicles to Russia in 71 cases, although this is prohibited under the current EU export restrictions. The vehicles were shipped to third countries under the guise of regular exports, but the actual target market was Russia.

Extensive investigations by customs and the public prosecutor’s office

The proceedings were conducted by the public prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt together with the customs investigation office in Essen. The accused’s home and business premises had already been searched in September 2023 as part of the investigation. Customs not only seized extensive sales documents, but also three luxury vehicles and cash totalling almost 130,000 euros.

Assets worth millions confiscated

During the investigation, both electronic and written evidence was carefully analysed. The result: the indictment in 71 individual cases for offences against the German Foreign Trade and Payments Act. In addition to the prison sentence, the court also decided to confiscate assets – around five million euros, corresponding to the total value of the illegally exported vehicles. The judgement is not yet final at this time.

Our recommendation for companies:

Sanctions regulations in foreign trade are complex and violations can have serious consequences. Let us advise you when it comes to legally compliant export processes and customs law issues.

Source: zoll.de (in German)