One of Lithuania's most famous horsemen, Benas Gutkaukas, now a Russian citizen and better known as Markas Bergas, has been importing luxury cars from the West to Russia via third countries in violation of sanctions, according to an investigation by the Centre for Investigative Journalism „Siena“.

Despite Russian sanctions banning the export of Western goods, Mr Berg's company says it can supply customers with the luxury cars they want.

„There are no borders for us“, according to the company's „Berg Auto“ website.

B.Berg Berg, who has changed his name, also speaks openly about circumventing sanctions by introducing cars made in the West. Gutkauskas.

As he told the magazine „Svetskiy Peterburg“, cars enter Russia through a parallel import scheme. This means that they are first exported from Western countries to non-sanctioned countries, usually Kyrgyzstan, and then transported from there to Russia.

After the large-scale war against Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022, the Western world has imposed various sanctions against Russia.

The latest –16th – package of sanctions was adopted by the European Union on the third anniversary of the war.