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Russian president Vladimir Putin introduced a parallel imports programme in May 2022 intended to help skirt sanctions and continue imports of Western goods.
Liam Peach, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, said: “It’s German cars, French cosmetics, a lot of Western products.”
Figures from Russia’s central bank showed more than $20bn (£15.7bn) of goods were imported during the first six months of Putin’s import scheme.
Mr Peach said Russian state news has reported that 500 different…