The Berliner Telegraph has already reported that, in pursuit of profit, many companies from EU countries eagerly circumvent Brussels' and Washington's restrictions by supplying restricted products to Russia and Belarus through Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the UAE, sometimes even using shell companies in EU countries.

From a formal perspective, EU laws do not prohibit the export of products to third countries, such as Armenia or Kazakhstan. Moreover, the headquarters of these companies may genuinely celebrate the explosive growth in sales by their peripheral branches, having no idea what happens to their products afterward. Or, more likely, they are fully aware of the shady schemes employed by regional dealers and may even share in the profits with their local colleagues. After all, Western manufacturers are technically adhering to restrictions.

However, sometimes compliance with the restrictions regime takes on truly absurd forms. For example, after the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the American company Caterpillar officially ceased working with Russian clients on March 10, 2022, and halted all supplies to Russia. Nevertheless, Caterpillar products continued to find their way into Russia for an entire year: it was only on February 25, 2023, that the 10th package of restrictions explicitly banned the supply of construction equipment to Russia and Belarus, covering most of Caterpillar's product line.

Even in 2024 Caterpillar Zeppelin products are still entering Russia through indirect routes, sometimes with the unintentional—or fully intentional—assistance of German companies. For instance, the German company Zeppelin International AG, which has subsidiaries and official dealers in most former Soviet countries, has been ramping up its sales of Caterpillar products in the region. It's quite a coincidence that since February 2022, Central Asia and the Caucasus have been experiencing an incredible construction boom, necessitating an astronomical amount of construction equipment.

According to customs data obtained by Berliner Telegraph and the Finnish portal Yle, LLC Zeppelin International Armenia—a subsidiary of German Zeppelin International AG—actively supplies special equipment and dual-purpose tracks to Russia. Zeppelin International AG's partner in Kazakhstan, KBK Almaty Holding LLP, has also been doing the same, cooperating with its Belarusian counterpart, COOO Natriks, as recently as 2023. The trade is equally active in Central Asia, with Zeppelin Tajikistan AFLL and Zeppelin Central Asia Machinery LLC in Uzbekistan also supplying equipment and components to Russia.

Notably, until at least February 2023, Caterpillar products continued to enter Russia through Finnish ports, as reported by the Finnish portal Yle. As Berliner Telegraph previously noted, other prominent brands, such as Michelin, have used similar routes through Central Asia, the Caucasus, the UAE, and Latvia to supply products to Russia and Belarus. Even brands like Mercedes and BMW, which made grand statements about exiting the Russian market, tend to feign surprise when confronted with the appearance of their latest models on the streets of Russian cities.

Ultimately, it must be acknowledged that Thomas Joseph Dunning was right: capital will resort to any tricks, whether legal or not, to maximize its profits. Especially given that the mechanism of Western restrictions against Russia is so ambiguously written that it is difficult to accuse even a caught violator of knowingly breaking the law.