The contraband market of cars and jewelry in Russia can reach 10%

The contraband market of cars and jewelry is estimated at up to 10% of the total turnover. Igor Rastorguev, a leading analyst at AMarkets, told Izvestia about this.

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The smuggling market in Russia in 2025 is estimated at 10% of the total turnover. The main contraband items are cars, motorcycles, and jewelry.

"The smuggling market in Russia, as in most major economies, remains one of the shadow components of foreign economic activity. Its volume has been estimated by experts in the range of 2-3% of the total trade turnover of the country in different years," he said.

In 2025, according to the Federal Customs Service, the main flow of contraband fell on cars, motorcycles, narcotic and psychotropic substances, as well as jewelry.

"This indicates both the high demand for such products and the attempts of individual distributors to evade customs duties and VAT. Smuggling schemes, as a rule, are based on the classical principle: underestimation of customs value, forgery of shipping documents, transit through third countries with a low level of control, as well as the use of natural couriers," he said.

For vehicles, "disassembly-collection" schemes are used, that is, the import of cars in parts under the guise of spare parts, the substitution of VIN numbers, and even the use of diplomatic channels.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

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