The authorities explained the sale in Russia of goods of sub-sanctioned Ukrainian firms

The Russian government maintains a list of sanctioned Ukrainian companies in accordance with Decree No. 1300. Now it contains more than 80 legal entities whose assets and financial resources in Russia are subject to freezing, and Russian residents are not entitled to transfer funds to them.

However, the goods of some of these sub-sanctioned manufacturers can be sold in Russia due to the peculiarities of the sanctions regime. This follows from the responses of federal agencies (a copy of the correspondence is available to RBC) to the appeal of lawyer Veronika Ignatieva, who pointed out the sale in the country of products manufactured by the Ukrainian pharmaceutical manufacturer Farmak: the company is included in the list of legal entities in respect of which special economic measures have been introduced, and its beneficiary, Filya Zhebrovskaya, is included in the corresponding list of individuals. The problem is that Farmak does not supply products on its own, but through third parties not included in the sanctions lists, the lawyer points out.

Veronika Ignatieva sent several letters on this issue to the government, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and other departments from April to October. According to the lawyer, she acts as a private person and does not represent anyone's third-party interests. The press service of the RBC government reported that Ignatieva's appeal was received by the government apparatus and was "sent in the prescribed manner to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of HEALTH and the Federal Customs Service of Russia."

The Ministry of Finance (responsible for the legal regulation of the “Ukrainian” sanctions) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (one of the executors of Decree No. 1300) in their responses to the applicant confirmed that there was no ban on the import of goods produced by Ukrainian sanctioned manufacturers as such. “Medications, including products manufactured by Farmak PJSC (30th group of TN VED of the EAEU), are not included in the list of goods whose import from Ukraine is prohibited,” the press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade responded to RBC’s request, confirming the authenticity correspondence with Ignatieva and emphasizing that the Ministry of Industry and Trade was not the developer of either Decree No. 1300 or another Decree No. 1716-83, which banned the supply of certain goods of Ukrainian origin to Russia (industrial goods, agricultural products, food, etc.).

According to the Federal Customs Service of Russia, in 2020 pharmaceutical products worth $15.6 million were imported from Ukraine to Russia, in January-August 2021 - $15.2 million. "Amizon" for the treatment of influenza and SARS or the laxative "Guttasil" are sold in several pharmacy chains. The Amizon drug, produced by a sub-sanctioned Ukrainian company, is undergoing customs declaration in Russia, the Main Directorate of Customs Control confirmed in a response to the applicant after the release of goods by the Russian Federal Customs Service, without disclosing who imports this product into the country. RBC sent a request to the press service of Farmak.