A Harrods supplier was arrested in Britain for importing perfume into Russia.

A London civil court has launched a criminal investigation against David Crisp, director of one of the companies that supplies perfumes to London's Harrods department store (the investigators did not name it), who is suspected of selling selective perfumes to Russia before 2023, when sanctions were already imposed on the country , reportsBLOOMBERG .

Harrods is London's most famous and expensive department store, covering 90,000 square meters. It is considered one of the largest and most fashionable department stores in the world. It houses more than 300 branded corners, including gourmet shops, fashion boutiques, and exclusive jewelry stores.

As Bloomberg notes, recordings of Crisp's conversations with an unnamed undercover agent likely played a decisive role in the case. In them, the suspect, among other things, admits that the Russian market is working "really well" and that he ignores "government decrees." Details of the charges came to light after a fellow director of Crisp's succeeded in having him replaced on the board of directors of a supplier company.

The ruling also states that Crisp was arrested by UK tax authorities last October on suspicion of violating anti-Russian sanctions and remains under investigation. He has not been charged, and the investigation is ongoing.

Crisp's lawyers told Bloomberg that he vehemently denies intentionally violating export control regulations, but declined to comment in detail until the investigation is complete. Court documents also state that he admitted to selling perfume to Russia in 2023, but claimed he did so without realizing he was violating sanctions. One of the perfumes Crisp supplied to Russia was Boadicea The Victorious Eau de Parfum, priced at £900 (approximately 100,000 rubles) per 100 ml, Bloomberg reports.

The agency calls Crisp's case the first public criminal investigation conducted by the UK Revenue and Customs into a violator of anti-Russian sanctions.

The UK, following the US and the EU, banned luxury goods exports to Russia in March 2022. EU sanctions define luxury goods as those priced over €300 per item, while the US defines them as those priced over $300. London did not specify the threshold for the ban , but noted that it was imposing the sanctions "in conjunction with its G7 allies."

Russian authorities consider Western sanctions illegal. Amid restrictions and the departure of many foreign companies, Russia has allowed parallel imports , meaning shipments without the manufacturer's permission. Last December, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov estimated the value of parallel imports at over $70 billion.