Polish law enforcers have detained 20 people in the case of selling about 600 luxury cars to Belarus and Russia to circumvent sanctions, the Central Bureau of Investigation of the Polish police said.
According to the investigation, all of them were an organised criminal group, which operated in Poland, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Germany and other European countries from 2021 to 2025. Its members used front companies, which in turn created other companies, which allowed them to conduct operations and hide their criminal activities.
They purchased luxury cars from car dealerships, including BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Lexus and Range Rover. The cars were then resold to other companies and distributed to buyers in EU countries. From there, they were transported back to Poland and sold to Russia and Belarus, mainly through Belarusian, Azerbaijani and Kazakh companies.
In addition, companies controlled by members of the group received unjustified VAT refunds of more than 40 million zlotys ($11 million), according to police.
They face charges of leading and participating in an organised criminal group, issuing fictitious VAT invoices for more than 17 million zlotys ($3 million), money laundering and evading sanctions imposed against Russia and Belarus. Two of the 20 detainees were sent to custody for three months.
During the search, law enforcers seized their assets, jewellery and cash in various currencies. In addition, more than 10 million zlotys ($2.7 million) were frozen in the bank accounts of the suspects.