“Loopholes” in Western sanctions

Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia's Chechen Republic, posted a video on Telegram over the weekend showing a Tesla Cybertruck pickup truck being personally driven through a deserted street with what appears to be a machine gun mounted on the roof.

"The Cybertruck will soon be sent to the special military operation zone," Kadyrov said, referring to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Kadyrov claimed that the Cybertruck was a gift from Tesla boss Elon Musk, whom the Chechen leader called "the most powerful genius of our time."

"We... expect your future products to help us complete the special military operation," Mr. Kadyrov wrote on Telegram.

Billionaire Musk firmly denied it on his social network X on August 19. However, the question remains: If the video posted on Telegram is real, how could Mr. Kadyrov – a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who is currently under many sanctions from the US and EU – own this Cybertruck?

"Gap"

Some smaller EU countries have been used for “parallel trading”, creating a “loophole” that effectively evades sanctions. Experts say this may have allowed Mr Kadyrov to bring the Cybertruck to his doorstep.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, equipped a Tesla Cybertruck with a machine gun and claimed it was "a gift from Elon Musk." Photo: NY Post

“The Cybertruck would generally be prohibited under export control laws because Tesla is a US company,” said compliance expert Stephen Fallon, referring to sanctions imposed on Russia due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“I suspect that perhaps the original owner, or multiple original owners, resold this super-pickup to Mr Kadyrov through the UAE, Kazakhstan or Türkiye,” Mr Fallon said.

Customs law expert Ward Lietaert agrees, telling Business Insider that the EU has faced a serious sanctions evasion problem in the past few months.

“For example, there are no export restrictions in Kazakhstan,” said Mr. Lietaert. “The Kazakh customer will sell or transfer that goods to the Russian customer, through some stopover in Kazakhstan, and then the goods will go to Russia.”

Mr. Fallon, who has worked on compliance for several European government agencies, also speculated that Musk’s billionaire team must be under a lot of stress trying to put out this latest fire.

“Musk clearly didn’t mean for this to happen, but I think a whole team of Tesla general counsel and compliance are struggling with this,” Fallon said.

Tesla did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Tesla's Cybertruck pickup truck. Photo: Armormax

The all-electric Cybertruck has caught the attention of many drivers with its unique design, an outer frame made of Ultra-Hard 30X cold-rolled stainless steel, challenging the traditional aesthetics of the pickup market with some never-before-seen features.

According to Tesla, the Cybertruck's body is strong enough to withstand the impact of a 9mm pistol bullet, and the vehicle is also equipped with bulletproof glass.

The base model has an estimated range of 250 miles (402 km), while the AWD and "Cyberbeast" versions have ranges of 340 miles and 320 miles (547 km and 515 km), respectively.

Tesla's top-of-the-line Cyberbeast can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 2.6 seconds, outperforming many sports cars.

"Headache"

If the "headache" has just come to Elon Musk and Tesla, then for the EU this "headache" has become permanent.

AFP reported in 2023 that the vehicles were being shipped to Russia via Armenia, further bolstering the theory of sanctions evasion via the EU.

AFP described how the cars were bought at online auctions in the US and ended up in Russia.

According to the French news agency, the cars "were transported by sea to the Georgian port of Poti, repaired, transported to Armenia for customs clearance, and then brought to Russia by land via Georgia."

Countries such as Armenia, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Türkiye have been “scrutinized” for parallel trade and re-exports, which are not outright illegal but remain a “grey area” that Western sanctions are “full of holes in,” said customs law expert Lietaert.

The Armenian Embassy in Washington, DC, told Business Insider that it disagrees with this practice. "We would like to reiterate the clear position of the Armenian government: Armenia does not support sanctions evasion."

To curb this problem, the EU has approved an export law in 2023, which includes a “no Russia” clause.

This provision applies to EU exporters and, by contract, prohibits the re-export of a limited quantity of goods to Russia or for use in Russia when selling, supplying, transferring or exporting those goods to a non-EU country.

"In addition to this provision, EU sanctions prohibit the sale of vehicles worth more than €50,000 to Russia," foreign policy expert Delaney Simon told Business Insider. "The Tesla Cybertruck costs more than that, so if it were to go to Russia via export, it would be in violation of European regulations."

“What is certain is that where there are sanctions, there will be sanctions evasion,” said Mr Simon. “The longer the sanctions regime lasts, the more avenues will emerge to circumvent the rules.”

Minh Duc (According to Business Insider, Politico EU)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/quai-thu-cybertruck-o-chechnya-phoi-bay-lo-hong-trong-don-trung-phat-cua-phuong-tay-204240821133532071.htm