Russian oligarchs under sanctions continue to operate their businesses freely in the Netherlands, according to an investigation.

Companies owned by Russian oligarchs who are under Western sanctions continue to operate freely in the Netherlands.

Source. This is reported by NOS, which is referenced by moscowtimes.ru.

According to the publication, billionaires exploit loopholes in local legislation to classify their businesses as micro-enterprises. This legal maneuver allows them to conceal financial flows and avoid stringent reporting requirements.

One such businessman is steel magnate Alexey Mordashov, who became one of the wealthiest individuals in Russia during the 1990s and ended up on the EU sanctions list following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

His company, SMTT Holding, registered in Amsterdam, is valued at 65 million euros but is classified as a micro-enterprise, which means it is not required to disclose key financial information.

Another example is Airport Alliance (Netherlands), a subsidiary of the Russian bank VTB, which is managed by Putin's long-time friend Andrey Kostin. He is under sanctions from the US, EU, UK, and other countries.

The company Safmar, linked to billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev, also operates in the Netherlands. Gutseriev is on the sanctions lists of the European Union, Canada, and other nations due to his connections with the Russian leadership and Alexander Lukashenko.

According to Dutch legislation, a company can attain micro-enterprise status if it meets at least two of the following criteria: fewer than 10 employees; balance sheet value limited to 450,000 euros; annual net profit does not exceed 900,000 euros.

Gaining micro-enterprise status allows companies to: not disclose information about profits, taxes, and assets; avoid financial statement audits; submit minimal annual reports.

Initially, these rules were implemented to reduce bureaucratic pressure on small businesses, but now they are being exploited by multinational corporations and Russian oligarchs for their own benefit, as noted by NOS.

The loophole for micro-enterprises enables companies linked to Russian billionaires to completely evade oversight. For instance, SMTT Holding continues to hide its financial flows, remaining under the radar of regulatory authorities. The lack of stringent supervision complicates the monitoring of how these companies manage their funds, reducing the transparency of their operations, NOS points out.

As reported, Saudi Arabia purchased weapons worth more than 2 billion euros from Russia during the war. The acquisition of Russian arms poses a risk of secondary sanctions from the US on the countries involved.