Business connected to approved Russian billionaires are making the most of a loophole in Dutch legislation to avert monetary oversight, the Dutch public broadcaster NOS has reported.According to NOS, these billionaires make use of an arrangement in Dutch law that enables their business to be classified as micro-enterprises, enabling them to conceal cash flows and avoid strict reporting requirements even as they remain under international sanctions over the intrusion of Ukraine.One such business person is steel tycoon Alexei Mordashov, who was sanctioned by the European Union following Russias invasion of Ukraine.
His Amsterdam-registered business, SMTT Holding, is valued at 65 million euros but is categorized as a micro-enterprise, indicating it is exempt from disclosing essential monetary data.Another example is Airport Alliance (Netherlands), a subsidiary of Russias majority state-owned VTB Bank.
VTB is under Western sanctions and its chairman, Andrei Kostin, is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin.Safmar, a firm connected to Western-sanctioned billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev, is also signed up as a micro-enterprise in the Netherlands, NOS reported.Under Dutch law, a business can qualify as a micro-enterprise if it fulfills at least 2 of the following criteria: fewer than 10 workers, a balance sheet overall of as much as 450,000 euros, or a net turnover of up to 900,000 euros.Businesses with this classification which was very first introduced to cut down on administrative bureaucracy for small companies are not needed to reveal revenues, taxes or assets to the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, nor are they based on necessary audits or comprehensive monetary reporting requirements.Following the invasion of Ukraine, major international accounting companies declined to work with Russian clients, making it difficult for approved companies to secure auditors.But Mordashov was able to sidestep this issue thanks to SMTT Holdings micro-enterprise status, permitting it to keep operating without examination, NOS stated.