Are Georgia and Kyrgyzstan Facilitating Russia’s Evasion of Sanctions?

Recent trade investigations involving Georgia and Kyrgyzstan reveal indicators of sanctions-violating behavior involving Russia.

In Georgia, the investigative publication iFact published findings about suspicious patterns in an article titled “How Georgia facilitates Russia’s military supply chain.” To compile their report, the journalists posed as persons interested in shipping so-called “dual-use” goods to Russia from Georgia. In conversations with couriers, they found there are few barriers to sending such goods to Russia as drones and computer processors, items that can serve both civilian and military purposes.

The investigative journalists, who supported their investigation by analyzing trade data, acknowledged that there are inspection protocols in place to prevent illicit goods from crossing the Georgia-Russia border. However, the report added that “the actual execution and thoroughness of these checks may vary, as reflected in our findings.” And couriers can circumvent Georgian restrictions by sending goods to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Central Asian countries before shipping them to Russia.

Georgian government officials have yet to directly comment on the August 1 report. The ruling Georgia Dream party’s attention in recent weeks has focused more on damage control over an August 9 OCCRP. investigate owned by the family of “Honorary President” Bidzina Ivanishvili of Russia.

The Georgia Revenue Service contested the report, saddlein a statement that “this is not the first time that the syndicate of investigative journalists has launched false accusations against the agency, claiming that sanctioned goods enter the territory of Georgia unchecked and are subsequently exported to the Russian Federation.”

In the past, Georgian Dream leaders have denied allegations that Georgia is a facilitator for the shipment of sanctioned goods to Russia, citing a lack of conclusive evidence. “We are absolutely transparent” said former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in June 2023. “I declare with all responsibility – we have not been presented with any fact that Georgia helped anyone to avoid any sanctions.”

Georgia has not joined Western nations in sanctioning Russia from a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, saying that such a move would be disastrous for the economy. But the leaders often Claim that the country is not used to evade sanctions imposed by Western nations.

It’s not just the government that says concerns about sanctions evasion are overblown. Shortly after the iFact report, the Swiss Institute for Global Affairs published an analysis of Georgia trade data that drew different conclusions. “(Scrutiny of) trade data and other detailed information indicates that the oft-cited increases in bilateral and transit trade from/through Georgia to Russia can be explained by innocuous developments, and that if sanctions evasion were to occur, it would be at a negligible level. “, said the institute.

Even so, the organization acknowledged that dual-use goods appear on the list of Georgian exports to Russia – “namely some mechanical and electronic components”. iFact claimed in its report that the flow of such goods indicates “legal loopholes and logistical routes” are being exploited to benefit Russia’s war effort.

“At the very least, if the government genuinely claims to be imposing sanctions and does not want to become a rights-violating country, the best way would be to publish a separate list of high-priority items on the battlefield and issue additional restrictions to their export”, said Maximilian. Hess, a sanctions expert at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told iFact.

“Essentially, this means forcing exporters to clarify the final destination of the cargo. This is necessary to avoid prohibited goods from reaching Russia through Georgia,” he added.

Meanwhile, a report published by RFE/RL raised questions about Kyrgyzstan’s role as a potential sanctions buster involving goods flowing between Serbia and potentially Russia.

The RFE/RL investigation found that Serbia’s trade with Kyrgyzstan has skyrocketed since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. It also revealed a massive discrepancy in trade data compiled by Serbian and Kyrgyz state agencies, suggesting that a large volume of goods transported by Serbia to Kyrgyzstan is re-exported to a third country.

“Among the products delivered from Serbia to Kyrgyzstan, there are goods included in the sanctions list of the European Union and the United States, or, in other words, that Russia can use in the military industry,” according to the RFE/RL report. .

Of Eurasianet.org

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