Sverdlovsk Region prosecution authorities for transportation looked into the way local businesses and organizations complied with the currency laws. It was revealed that some local companies dealing in foreign trade failed to go through the customs clearance using their cargo manifests and transaction passports when they had some foreign trade contracts with the firms based in China, Cyprus, and the United Arab Emirates. Still, in all these cases, the offenders’ foreign partners met their contractual obligations in full, the spokesperson for Ural prosecution authorities for transportation says.

‘The violation of the federal legislation consisted in that the goods were actually never delivered to the Russian Federation customs area and the money paid for these non-delivered goods was never transferred back to Russia. The sum in question comes to over $10m,’ the spokesperson explains.

Following the authorities’ investigation, three criminal lawsuits have already been instituted, with charges of non-return of foreign currency to Russia based on Article 193 of the Russian Federation Criminal Code.