Belarusian Company Transported Solvent Banned By Sanctions To Russia

"Lukashenko's purses" helped the Kremlin circumvent sanctions.

A Belarusian company, associated with "Lukashenko's purses," supplied banned goods to Russia, bypassing sanctions. This is written by Belarusian Investigative Center.

In the autumn of 2024 in Barcelona, Spanish law enforcement officers intercepted 13 tons of sub-sanctioned chemical, which was sent to Russia. This NMP is the solvent N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. The substance is used for the production of agrochemicals, paints, adhesives, sealants, for cleaning conductors in electronics, in pharmaceuticals and other areas. But at the same time, the chemical can be used in the military sphere: for the production of batteries, Kevlar, as well as for the manufacture of poisonous substances for chemical grenades. The EU banned the export of this solvent to Russia back in the spring of 2022.

The nine people detained in this criminal case were representatives of one family - Maria Oleynikova, Vyacheslav Oleynikov and Irina Oleynikova. They have a restaurant Cavina in Barcelona since 2024, and they have a chain of gastrobars with the same name in Russia.

Maria Oleynikova owns, among other things, a stake in the Russian LLC "Katrosa Reactiv". That company, according to Russian customs data, bought 16 tons of NMP in 2023, and in 2024 bought another 21.3 tons of the chemical under the same commodity code but without naming the product. Of this second shipment, 16 tons came from Complexe Sancu SL, while the remaining 5 tons were delivered by the Belarusian LLC "VLATE Logistic".

BRC's information, "VLATE Logistic" received an order to deliver the reagent from Kyrgyz and Armenian companies registered after the introduction of European sanctions against Russia - "NK Muras" and "Avinex". Investigators believe that the firms were registered only for cover: according to the documents, the chemicals were intended for Bishkek and Yerevan, but in fact they were redirected to Russia with the help of Belarus.

Also in 2024, "VLATE Logistics" on behalf of "NK Muras" delivered modified starches from Austria to Russia, which are used for the production of construction mixtures. The supply of this product to Russia is also prohibited by the EU sanctions.

And in 2023, the Belarusian company transported to Russia under-sanctioned Volvo and DAF trucks from Sweden and the Netherlands. This time, the shipments of sub-sanctioned goods passed through Armenia.

The BRC found out that from May 2017 to December 2020, the sole owner of VLATE Logistics was Bremino Group LLC. This is a well-known company associated with Alexander Zaitsev, Alexei Oleksin and Nikolai Voroby, who are called "Lukashenko's wallets".

After 2020, the company passed into the hands of new owners - non-public individuals. However, Zaitsev, Aleksin and Vorobey are still related to it, the investigators claim.

"Bremino Group" fell under Western sanctions in the summer of 2021. In 2024, VLATE Logistics was added to the EU and US blacklists.

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