Psychiatrist in Finland suspected of evading sanctions against Russia — YLE News
In Lappeenranta, Finland, a psychiatrist of Russian origin who works in the South Karelia social and health services region is suspected of evading sanctions against Russia, the aggressor state. According to YLE News, he is the sole board member of North-West Finlogistics.
Finnish Customs reported an investigation into two people suspected of an aggravated regulatory offence. According to Customs, one company was responsible for organizing exports, while the other was responsible for storing goods.
More than 1,200 export operations
YLE reports that the case involves Lappeenranta-registered North-West Finlogistics and MM Cargo, which now operates under the name Movevate Oy. According to the media outlet, the companies cooperated in the alleged circumvention of sanctions and jointly carried out more than 1,200 export deliveries to Russia.
Customs suspects that sanctioned goods worth nearly €6 million were exported to Russia. At the same time, customs data collected by YLE indicate that the total value of goods sent by these companies to Russia amounted to about €9 million. Not all deliveries necessarily contained sanctioned goods, as Western restrictions were introduced gradually.
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Deliveries through Turkey
According to the YLE MOT investigation, North-West Finlogistics supplied most of the goods to Russia. The products were first sent, among other places, to Turkey, from where they were mostly forwarded to companies operating in the St. Petersburg area. One of the firm's partners was a company registered in Ankara.
The exports took place in 2022–2023, after the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. MOT reported that the companies sold engines, hydraulic pumps and valves to Russia — critical components that have been found in weapons used by Russia. At least one client of one of the companies in Russia had direct ties to the Russian military machine, so, according to YLE's assessment, some of the goods could have ended up being used for the needs of the Russian army.
YLE MOT reported on the activities of these companies in early 2024, but did not name them at the time because they were not yet suspected of a crime. In a previous anonymous interview, the psychiatrist denied exporting sanctioned goods to Russia.
