Tapas and Toxins: Family of Spanish Restaurateurs Investigated for Selling Sanctioned Dual-Use Chemicals to Russia

The report details how Spanish-linked entities exported EU-sanctioned chemicals to Russia from April 2022 to June 2023 by exploiting HS Code ambiguities and customs shortcomings, including mixing banned chemicals within larger legal shipments and falsifying destinations (e.g., Armenia, Kyrgyzstan). It cites examples such as $15,000 in banned chemicals (NMP, isopropanol, hydrogen peroxide) and a separate $3,650 sodium bicarbonate shipment, and quotes experts who argue that EU customs lack the infrastructure to holistically detect and stop such violations.