Kazakhstan and Russia are long-term trading partners.

(Reuters)

[Financial Channel/Comprehensive Report] According to seven sources, in order to evade Western sanctions, Russia has increasingly frequently asked their ally Kazakhstan in recent weeks to help them smuggle Western goods into Russia.

After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the West imposed comprehensive sanctions on the Russian economy, prompting the Russian authorities to find ways to import foreign technology and goods. With the overwhelming sanctions, Russian companies have also established a stable supply chain network through third countries.

Economists say many goods are being smuggled in through countries such as Turkey and Kazakhstan.

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The seven sources declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

They said that Russian companies have recently frequently asked Kazakhstan to ship various materials such as bearings, aircraft parts, and rare earth metals to Russia.

The Russians have a long shopping list that includes industrial equipment, railway bearings, advanced electronics, radio equipment, turbines, aircraft parts, raw materials and even bank card materials, the source said.

The Kazakh government did not respond to a request for comment.

Kazakhstan is a member of the former Soviet Union and borders Russia. The border between the two countries is 7,644 kilometers long. They are geographically close and have historical ties. Kazakhstan and Russia have been long-term trading partners. After the outbreak of the Ukrainian-Russian War, such a close trade relationship, It has become a big loophole for the West to sanction Russia.

Kazakhstan is currently Russia's largest trading partner. Last year, Kazakhstan's exports to Russia increased by 1/4, reaching US$8.8 billion (NT$268.1 billion), especially bearings, which almost doubled to US$111 million (NT$ 3.38 billion).

In addition, Kazakhstan has also increased imports of computers from European countries and Taiwan, but it is not clear how many will be re-exported to Russia.

Sources said that some products are so complex that what is listed on the sanctions list may only be components of a certain product, so sometimes the law is not even violated at all.

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