Russian businesses are shipping goods to Australia using loopholes in postal bans
Russian businesses are using third parties to ship products to and from Australia, potentially in breach of sanctions and bans by Australia Post on servicing the country.
Russian businesses are using third-party companies and countries to access Australian shoppers, despite bans imposed by Australia Post, in a bid to bypass sanctions on the country.
The Australian has confirmed several companies are using third parties or reshipping services to circumvent bans put on Russia after the country invaded Ukraine last year.
Australia Post announced in April 2022 it would temporarily suspend all postal services to and from the Russian Federation in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.
AusPost was one of several postal services across Europe, the US and Asia to suspend services.
UPS suspended all operations to and from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine in 2022. FedEx also suspended its services to and from Russia and Belarus in March 2022.
AusPost said it would maintain a suspension on all Russian mail to ensure it complied with “all relevant sanctions requirements, and is subject to the availability of transport to and from Russia”.
But AusPost continues to service Belarus by delivering packages coming out of the country. However, volumes out of the eastern European country have dropped in the wake of the invasion.
The Australian has confirmed some Russian companies are using Belarus as a staging point to avoid sanctions and postal restrictions, shipping goods into the country before they are repacked and shipped to other countries.
One parcel tracked by The Australian was sent from the Russian City of Tver, near Moscow, to the Belarusian city of Babruysk, in the country’s east, before being repackaged and shipped to Australia where it was delivered by AusPost.
AusPost has suspended delivering packages to Belarus, but several companies are offering Australian customers services to reroute packages into the country and on to Russia in a bid to avoid sanctions and restrictions.
A spokesman for AusPost noted the postal service took its role within the UPU “seriously” and would accept “letters and parcels from UPU member countries into the Australian domestic delivery network”.
In addition to Australia’s postal network connections, companies are able to access Australian customers using AusPost’s commercial partners who can in some cases not disclose the origin of the package.
“International parcels can arrive in Australia through a number of channels, not all through UPU postal networks,” an AusPost spokesman said.
“Articles that arrive in Australia from overseas are subject to security and border checks by the Australian Border Force and other agencies.”
Australia has imposed sanctions on Russia, restricting the supply of a large number of goods and commercial services to the country. This included luxury goods and a ban on dealing with several Russian banks, and state-owned or controlled companies involved in the trade or transport of oil products.
Australians are restricted from supplying a large number of goods to Russian customers under current sanctions, such as shellfish, leather products, jewellery, precious glassware, vehicle parts, garments and shoes.
One company offering delivery options to Russia for Australian customers claims “even in difficult times of sanctions or quarantine, we deliver packages from China just in time”, spruiking photos of luxury goods sent to Russia.
Another company notes it has “carefully approached the construction of a route bypassing the blocked air and land borders of the Russian Federation”.
The firm notes it can ensure payments via Russian eCommerce platform Robokassa.
Australia’s sanctions regime also banned companies based here from assisting with the supply, sale or transfer of any restricted goods or providing any financial assistance or investment of Russia in restricted areas.
Australia has also sanctioned Russian ally Belarus, imposing restrictions on several figures linked to the country’s armed forces and government.
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