Surge in sale of UK-made cars to Russia’s neighbours shows how it’s beating sanctions
British carmakers appear to have continued selling hundreds of millions of pounds of luxury vehicles to Russia even after the invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions, exporting the cars indirectly via former Soviet states, Sky News analysis suggests.
While direct British car exports to Russia have fallen to zero following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, that collapse has been followed by a corresponding increase in car exports to countries neighbouring Russia, most notably Azerbaijan.
Our analysis, based on official HMRC trade data, finds that the UK exported £273m of vehicles to Azerbaijan last year, a 1,860% increase compared with the five-year period preceding the invasion.
Not only is the increase in exports to Azerbaijan unprecedented, it is of a similar magnitude to the annual car exports to Russia in the two years before the imposition of sanctions, which averaged £330m.
Alongside the UK HMRC statistics, Sky News has analysed UN international trade data which shows that over precisely the same period that Britain recorded an unprecedented increase in car exports to Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan recorded an unprecedented increase in car exports to Russia.
The data chimes with testimony from Sky sources, who told us that while Russian car buyers sourcing German vehicles have primarily sent them via Kyrgyzstan, they prefer to use Azerbaijan as a route for British cars.
British carmakers insist that they are no longer selling cars to Russia. And the government data, collected by the HMRC on all goods leaving the country, do not constitute proof that the cars ended up in Russia. It is impossible to track each British consignment once it has left port, especially once it has arrived at a third country.
However, the government is concerned about this grey area, whereby goods may be sent to Russia via former Soviet satellite states in the Caucasus and central Asia.
A Moscow showroom showing at least one car for sale.
Cars are among the items banned from Russia under the so-called “dual use” sanctions regime. There is a specific ban of the sale of luxury cars – those worth more than £42,000 – to Russia.
The HMRC database, which also shows the count of cars sold as well as the total value, reveals that the average value of UK cars exported to Azerbaijan was more than £100,000 – suggesting that the consignments are primarily or exclusively luxury cars.
Britain’s motoring lobby group the SMMT said: “UK vehicle manufacturers are committed to full compliance with all current and future trade sanctions.
“While trade flows can vary and, indeed, be quite volatile with growing economies, there is no available evidence to indicate a lack of compliance with existing sanctions, but manufacturers will remain vigilant, and would condemn any party that puts their commitment to compliance at risk.”
Sanctions experts said part of the challenge in combating the flow of goods to Russia via third countries (as appears to be happening in this case) is that it is very difficult, sometimes near impossible, to track those consignments once they enter those other countries.
Portbury in Bristol is one of the UK’s main ports to handle the import and export of motor vehicles.
Tom Keatinge, Director at the Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies, Royal United Services Institute says: “There are obviously very close economic ties between places like Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia, they sit within a kind of common economic area. And so really, once the good is in that area, your ability to track it as the manufacturer in the UK is lost.
“What you should of course, be asking yourself, when it comes to exporting that car, or whatever it might be initially is, ‘Do I really think that this exporter who’s suddenly come out of nowhere to buy 100 cars Is actually importing cars only into that third country? Or might they be trying to make money out of circumventing sanctions and selling that onward into Russia?'”
Rolls-Royce, which is owned by BMW, said: “Rolls-Royce Motor Cars ceased production and supply of cars for the Russian market in late February 2022, before international trade sanctions were put in place. In the meantime, governments have implemented far-reaching sanctions, which we fully comply with and support.
“Retail sales of cars to clients are managed by our global dealer network, comprised of independently owned and operated businesses. Our global dealer network is contractually obliged to follow all applicable national and international legal regulations, including those relating to export control.
“If any new Rolls-Royce motor car has been imported into Russia since late February 2022 this has been done so without the knowledge or support of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.”
A 2023 Bentley car is shown for sale on a Russian franchise dealership’s website.
Pic: Bentley Moscow
A representative from Bentley, owned by VW, said: “We are committed to full compliance with all current and future trade sanctions and there is no evidence to suggest a lack of compliance with existing sanctions, or indeed a change of sales trend in Azerbaijan.”
While the HMRC data does not identify specific carmakers or consignments, it does show that the port most used for this particular trade from the UK was the Port of Bristol, which had never previously exported more than a few million pounds worth of goods each year to Azerbaijan. In the two years following the invasion it saw those exports shoot up to more than £100m a year. The Port of Bristol did not respond to Sky News’s requests for a comment.
For the UK as a whole, the dramatic rise in car exports to Azerbaijan stands out in the trade statistics. In the space of a couple of years, this state of 10 million people, with a GDP around the same size as Ghana, has become the UK car industry’s 16th biggest export destination by value, ahead of Austria, Portugal and Sweden.
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Feb: Is Russia beating UK sanctions?
Sky News has previously shown that many other banned items, including those known to have been repurposed as weapons, have been sent to former Soviet states in the Caucasus and Central Asia, including Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. Those states have all recorded sharp increases in their exports to Russia.
Britain’s sanctions minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “The work of investigative journalists and NGOs’ continuing efforts to highlight circumvention are an important part of our collective efforts to track and evidence Putin’s abhorrent crimes.
“We have introduced the largest and most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on Russia or indeed any major economy with 2,000 individuals and entities under the Russia regime. Alongside our international allies we’ve been clear no country should be propping up Russia’s war machine.
“We continue to bear down on those who do business with Putin and his cronies, including sanctioning individuals who try to bypass our sanctions, and working with partners and a range of third countries to stem the flow of goods into Russia.”
UK
Air India plane crash victim’s son says he’ll relive his mother’s last moments ‘to the day I die’
The son of an Air India plane crash victim, who was sitting one row behind the man who survived, has told Sky News he will relive “her last moments” until the day he dies.
Manju Mahesh Patel, 79, was on the London Gatwick-bound plane when it crashed in Ahmedabad shortly after take-off on Thursday.
She was sitting in seat 12D on flight AI 171, the row behind the only person to survive the crash who was sitting in 11A.
In an interview with Sky News, Chirag Mahesh Patel, Manju’s son, said he hopes his mother’s death was “instant” and “painless”.
“To the day I die I will think, ‘what were her last moments?’,” he said.
Pointing to a framed family photograph of Ms Patel at the family home, he added: “I want to remember mum like this.
“I don’t want to have to go and identify a burnt corpse, your own parent. How does someone, how do you ever get over that? That will be with me, that’s with me for life.”
Ms Patel had been staying in Ahmedabad for the past few months doing charity work at a temple. She was due to be picked up by her son at Gatwick on Thursday night.
A family photo of Chirag Mahesh Patel with his mother
Read more on Air India crash:
Air India’s lone survivor is nothing short of miracle
Gloucester family among dead
Everything we know about the crash
In tears, Mr Patel described his mother as “very strong” and a woman “who really loved her family”.
“The thing about my mum,” he said, “is her bond with her faith. It’s unbreakable.
“She had ultimate faith… and in times of stress she would always say God’s name… So, I know that upon take-off, I know that she was saying his name.”
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What could have caused the India plane crash?
Mr Patel said that when he realised his mother was on the flight it was just “a normal day” and “it didn’t seem real”.
He said the last time he had spoken to her he had reminded her to take her diabetes medicine and had then missed a call from her at 4am to say she had arrived at the airport.
He described “the most heartbreaking thing” was how much Ms Patel was looking forward to seeing her grandchildren, saying “it was everything to her”.
She had told him she packed her suitcase with lollipops for her six-year-old grandson, and special crisps for her 15-year-old older grandchild.
Ms Patel with her six-year-old grandson
“It’s unimaginable even in my worst nightmare,” he said. “And the thing that kills me… is she was so looking forward to seeing us… she kept saying I bought this for you, I bought that, I bought the things for the kids.”
Mr Patel and his wife are due to fly to India on Saturday night to provide a DNA sample to help identify his mother’s remains.
He expressed his anger at what he called a “disgusting” and “appalling” lack of communication from Air India – which he said passed his details to a hospital but never contacted him personally.
He described feeling “neglected” by the airline, which he said would only offer him an Air India flight – and no help organising accommodation.
Mr Patel said he refused to get on the Gatwick flight back to Ahmedabad and has booked with another provider to travel to India instead.
Ms Patel with her elder grandchild
“I said [to the airline] all of this happened on Thursday, you’re telling me on Friday afternoon, do you want that flight this evening? That one crashed? The one coming back where 172 goes out? They asked do you want Air India 172? I said how can you ask me that. My mum just died on Air India.”
Mr Patel said he wanted “answers” and transparency in any air accident investigation.
Air India said in a statement: “Air India stands in solidarity with the families of the passengers who tragically lost their lives in the recent accident. Our teams on the ground are doing everything possible to extend care and support during this incredibly difficult time.
“As part of our continued efforts, Air India will be providing an interim payment of ₹25 lakh or approximately £21,000 each to the families of the deceased and to the survivor, to help address immediate financial needs. This is in addition to the ₹1 crore or approximately £85,000 support already announced by Tata Sons.
“All of us at Air India are deeply saddened by this loss. We mourn with the families, loved ones, and everyone affected.”
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Families in India wait for bodies of relatives
The company’s chief executive and managing director Campbell Wilson said in a video message posted on social media that over 200 “trained caregivers” were now in place to offer dedicated assistance to families, along with counselling and other services.
He said Air India was in the process of completing precautionary safety checks on Boeing 787 aircraft as directed by regulator the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which would “be completed within the timelines prescribed by the regulator”.
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Mr Wilson said he had also visited the crash site and said other members of the management team would remain present “for as long as it takes”.
The aircraft’s data recorder, often referred to as a black box, has been recovered and will form part of the investigation into the worst aviation crash in a decade.
‘He was too young’: Families grieve those lost in Air India crash
By Lisa Dowd, Midlands correspondent, in Derby
It was an emotional service at Derby’s Geeta Bhawan Hindu temple, as dozens of friends, colleagues and neighbours gathered to remember Dr Prateek Joshi, his wife Komi, their daughter Miraya, and twin sons Nakul and Pradyut.
Some wiped tears from their eyes, as a colleague was asked spontaneously to pay tribute to Dr Joshi, who had been bringing his family to live in the city, when the Air India flight they were on crashed seconds after take-off.
“He was too young, too much still to give, too much still to be done, too much to offer,” his friend told worshippers.
“He was taken from us in a very cruel and abrupt way, and his family as well, and we all think about his family back in India who is missing a son, missing a daughter-in-law and missing all their grandchildren who they’ll never see growing up.”
Derby South MP Catherine Atkinson said Dr Joshi, who was a radiologist at the Royal Derby hospital, had been “contributing to our NHS and the health of so many in our city and beyond”.
She said his wife was a pathologist who had resigned from her job in India.
“I won’t forget the photograph of them on the plane, full of optimism about their new adventure,” she said, as her voice broke.
“The losses make us all hug our families and loved ones a little closer and remind us how precious our time together is.”
Dr Joshi was described as a “warm, smiling man, full of joy” who enjoyed walking in the Peak District and who had discovered “a love of fish and chips”.
His neighbour and colleague Manoj Ramtohal told Sky News Dr Joshi always had time for people.
“He was very caring and very polite, very friendly, you couldn’t meet a better man than Prateek,” he said.
“We lost a very, very talented doctor.”
Sir Keir Starmer is to launch a new national inquiry into grooming gangs.
It comes after a government-requested audit into the scale of grooming gangs across the country concluded a nationwide probe was necessary.
The prime minister previously argued a national inquiry was not necessary, but has changed his view following an audit into group-based child sexual abuse led by Baroness Casey, which is set to be published next week.
“[Baroness Casey’s] position when she started the audit was that there was not a real need for a national inquiry over and above what was going on,” he told reporters travelling with him to the G7 summit in Canada.
“She has looked at the material… and she has come to the view that there should be a national inquiry on the basis of what she has seen.
“I have read every single word of her report, and I am going to accept her recommendation. That is the right thing to do on the basis of what she has put in her audit.
“I asked her to do that job to double check on this; she has done that job for me, and having read her report… I shall now implement her recommendations.”
Grooming gangs timeline: What happened, what inquiries there were and how Starmer was involved
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Grooming gangs: What happened?
The near 200-page report is to be published next week and is expected to warn that white British girls were “institutionally ignored for fear of racism”.
One person familiar with the report said it details the institutional failures in treating young girls and cites a decade of lost action from the Jay Review, set up in 2014 to investigate grooming gangs in Rotherham.
The report is also expected to link illegal immigration with the exploitation of young girls.
The government had initially resisted a new inquiry, insisting that it first wanted to implement recommendations from previous inquiries, such as the Jay Review, into child sexual exploitation.
It also allowed five councils to set up their own investigations into their communities rather than hold a national inquiry.
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From April: Will all grooming gang inquiries go ahead?
The grooming gang scandal came back into the headlines at the beginning of the year after Elon Musk attacked Sir Keir and safeguarding minister Jess Philips for failing children.
The prime minister and Ms Phillips hit back, with Sir Keir citing his record of prosecuting abusers as director of public prosecutions, while Ms Phillips has long been a campaigner against domestic violence.
At the time, she told Sky News that Mr Musk’s claims were “ridiculous” and that she would be led by what victims have to say, not him.
Following the row between the tech billionaire and the UK government, the prime minister asked Baroness Casey to conduct an audit of all the evidence to see if a national inquiry was required.
Read more on this story:
Telford child abuse victims speak out
What we know about grooming gangs, from the data
The women who blew whistle on Rotherham
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said: “Keir Starmer doesn’t know what he thinks unless an official report has told him so.
“Just like he dismissed concerns about the winter fuel payment and then had to U-turn, just like he needed the Supreme Court to tell him what a woman is, he had to be led by the nose to make this correct decision here.
“I’ve been repeatedly calling for a full national inquiry since January. It’s about time he recognised he made a mistake and apologise for six wasted months.
“But this must not be the end of the matter. There are many, many more questions that need answering to ensure this inquiry is done properly and quickly.
“Many survivors of the grooming gangs will be relieved that this is finally happening, but they need a resolution soon, not in 10 years’ time. Justice delayed is justice denied.”
UK
Weather warnings: 30,000 lightning strikes hit UK – with roads flooded and landslip disrupting trains
Roads have been flooded and a landslip has disrupted trains as the UK was hit by tens of thousands of lightning strikes during thunderstorms – with severe weather warnings in place for large parts of the country.
It follows the hottest day of the year on Friday, which saw a high of 29.4C (84.9F) in Santon Downham in Suffolk.
The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning until 6pm across the South West, North East and North of England, Wales and much of Scotland.
Check the weather forecast where you are
It said there had been more thann 30,000 lightning strikes during the night, with the “vast majority” over the sea.
The Met Office has warned some areas could see 30-50mm of rain in a few hours, while a few locations could reach up to 80mm.
At the same time, strong wind gusts and hail accompanying the storms could potentially bring road flooding, difficult driving conditions, power cuts and flooding of homes and businesses.
The Environment Agency urged the public not to drive through flood water, reminding drivers that “just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.”
A further yellow warning is in force in the eastern half of Northern Ireland from 6am to 6pm on Saturday, while a similar warning has been in place across the South East of England overnight following an amber alert on Friday.
Thunderstorm warnings are in place until Saturday evening. Pic: Met Office
Kent experienced heavy rainfall overnight, with flooded roads in parts of Dover, while a fire in a residential building in St Leonards-on-Sea on Friday night was likely caused by a lightning strike, the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service say.
Devon received five flood warnings overnight by the Environment Agency, alongside 46 flood alerts in the South West, South East and Midlands.
A further six flood alerts have been put in place by Natural Resources Wales in South Wales.
National Rail said a landslip had stopped all services between Exeter St Davids and Okehampton, with the weather conditions meaning it is not safe for engineers to reach the site. Disruption is expected until around 1pm.
Other rail operators also warned customers to check for updates on services on Saturday morning.
Heathrow Airport apologised to passengers late on Friday night for flights delayed by “adverse weather conditions”.
Sky News weather producer Steff Gaulter said: “The most active thunderstorms are over parts of Wales, Northern Ireland, Northern England and Scotland, and some are still bringing localised downpours and strong winds.
“The storms will continue northwards, becoming largely confined to Northern Ireland and Scotland by the afternoon. Elsewhere will see a mixture of sunshine and showers, with the showers tending to ease during the day.
“Then from tomorrow an area of high pressure will start to stretch towards us, and the weather next week is looking far calmer and quieter.”
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Despite the risk of heavy showers and thunderstorms, not everyone will see rain during the day, with the driest and brightest weather expected in the South East, which will remain very warm.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued its first yellow heat-health alert of the year, active until 8am on Sunday in the east of England, East Midlands, London, and the South East.
Under the UKHSA and the Met Office’s weather-health alerting system, a yellow alert means there could be an increased use of healthcare services by vulnerable people.
A yellow alert warns of a possible spike in vulnerable people accessing healthcare, and health risks for the over-65s and those with conditions such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
While scientists have not assessed the role of global warming in this short-term event, in general they expect more heavy downpours as the climate changes.
That’s largely because hotter air can hold more moisture and so releases more water when it rains.
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