Russian luxurious automobile smugglers take longer routes to evade sanctions

As we speak’s agenda: Eurozone financial institution shares’ file yr; US bank card mortgage defaults soar; Robin Harding on why the robots are not coming; and the yr of democracy in charts

Good morning. We begin with an unique story about Russian smugglers, who’re charging tens of hundreds of euros to import luxurious automobiles from Europe, as EU sanctions in response to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine hit the nation’s rich.

Right here’s what we all know: The Monetary Instances has recognized 5 Russian firms providing to smuggle automobiles from Europe with engine sizes ample to return underneath EU sanctions, which had been imposed in 2022 as a part of a ban on the export of luxurious items to the nation. The FT additionally recognized greater than 50 luxurious automobiles from 25 completely different German automobile dealerships on the Russian web site Auto.ru, which Russian importers had been providing at a median mark-up of about €19,000.

Why it issues: The provision of European automobiles to Russia comes regardless of the EU boosting sanctions since President Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in an effort to choke Moscow’s conflict machine and provoke dissatisfaction with the federal government. Because the EU tightened restrictions in July on luxurious items coming into Belarus — as soon as a preferred third nation by way of which to import to Russia — smugglers are utilizing more and more lengthy and costly routes to ship the automobiles. Right here’s what officers are saying concerning the smuggling.

Right here’s what else we’re protecting tabs on at present:

• South Korea: The nation begins the second of seven days of nationwide mourning for victims of the Jeju Air crash, one of many worst aviation disasters in years.

• ‘Black moon’: The evening sky will likely be primed for ultimate stargazing situations tonight amid the uncommon incidence of a second new moon in a single calendar month.

With 2025 virtually upon us, try the newest concern of our Week Forward e-newsletter, which lays out the important thing occasions of the approaching yr.

5 extra prime tales

1. Former US president Jimmy Carter has died aged 100, the Carter Middle stated. Carter, who later gained the Nobel Peace Prize, died peacefully yesterday at his house in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his household, the human rights organisation he based stated in an announcement. Learn extra about his life and legacy.

• Obituary: Whereas his one-term presidency continues to be extensively dismissed as a disappointment, Carter turned an influential ethical voice after leaving the White Home.

2. Eurozone financial institution shares are poised for his or her highest finish to the yr in additional than a decade after lenders weathered a fall in rates of interest and promised file shareholder returns. The Euro Stoxx Banks index, which tracks the largest lenders within the foreign money bloc, has jumped by greater than a fifth in 2024.

3. Defaults on US bank card loans have hit the very best degree because the wake of the 2008 monetary disaster, in an indication that lower-income shoppers’ monetary well being is waning after years of excessive inflation. Bank card lenders wrote off $46bn in severely delinquent mortgage balances within the first 9 months of 2024, up 50 per cent from the identical interval within the yr prior.

4. Unique: A file variety of senior legal professionals moved jobs in London this yr because the arrival of US legislation companies within the capital continues to disrupt the market and gasoline pay wars for expertise. The UK’s “magic circle”, which incorporates companies resembling Linklaters and Clifford Probability, have been notably affected. Suzi Ring has extra particulars.

5. Unique: The variety of folks within the UK who admitted not paying tax on their abroad property jumped by 22 per cent in 2023-24, in accordance with authorities knowledge. The federal government has promised to boost billions of kilos by clamping down on tax evasion and avoidance. One skilled stated: “HMRC’s aggressive pursuit of tax avoiders now leaves only a few locations to cover.”

Information in-depth

Priceless heritage websites in Lebanon have sustained irreparable harm from Israel’s air marketing campaign throughout its conflict in opposition to Hizbollah, specialists say. One preservation group says a minimum of 9 heritage websites had been fully destroyed and 15 badly or partially broken by Israeli assaults between September — when the nation escalated its year-long conflict with Hizbollah — and a ceasefire in November.

We’re additionally studying…

• 12 months in a phrase: Competitiveness. For Europe, Mario Draghi’s report on the roots of its slowdown was a clarion name for change, writes Brussels bureau chief Henry Foy.

• Personal faculties: A rising quantity within the UK are stated to be partaking in an “arms race” for services, contributing to an increase in charges as they woo the ultra-rich.

• Trump 2.0: The incoming US president is choosing nominees with vested curiosity to be in control of key regulatory areas, presenting a systemic monetary danger, writes Patrick Jenkins.

• AI and androids: The know-how’s rise does not imply the robots are coming — a minimum of not but, writes Robin Harding.

Charts of the yr

With a couple of and a half billion ballots forged in elections throughout 73 nations, 2024 provided a uncommon alternative to take the social and political temperature of virtually half of the world’s inhabitants. Right here’s what the “yr of democracy” taught us, in six charts.

The most well-liked tales of 2024

As 2024 attracts to an in depth, right here’s a glance again on the FT’s most-read tales this yr. Our protection of November’s US presidential election claimed the highest spots, main with the reside outcomes map which confirmed outcomes as they got here in state by state. This was carefully adopted by our interactive story on polling knowledge, which allowed readers to chart doable paths to victory for both candidate.

And out of doors the political realm, Claer Barrett’s piece on methods to defend your monetary knowledge with the rise of cellphone theft was the preferred. Her recommendation is as helpful now because it was when the story was first revealed in Could.