FirstFT: Russian luxurious automotive smugglers take longer routes to evade sanctions

Right this moment’s agenda: Eurozone financial institution shares’ document 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 Occasions has recognized 5 Russian corporations providing to smuggle automobiles from Europe with engine sizes adequate to come back 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 totally different German automotive 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 struggle machine and provoke dissatisfaction with the federal government. For the reason that EU tightened restrictions in July on luxurious items coming into Belarus — as soon as a well-liked third nation by way of which to import to Russia — smugglers are utilizing more and more lengthy and costly routes to ship the autos. Right here’s what officers are saying in regards to the smuggling.

Right here’s what else we’re conserving tabs on immediately:

• 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 night time sky shall be primed for very best stargazing situations tonight amid the uncommon incidence of a second new moon in a single calendar month.

With 2025 nearly upon us, try the most recent problem of our Week Forward publication, which lays out the key occasions of the approaching yr.

5 extra high 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 a press release. Learn extra about his life and legacy.

• Obituary: Whereas his one-term presidency remains 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 document 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 best stage for the reason that 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 critically 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 document variety of senior legal professionals moved jobs in London this yr because the arrival of US regulation companies within the capital continues to disrupt the market and gasoline pay wars for expertise. The UK’s “magic circle”, which incorporates companies akin to 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 very few places to hide.”

Information in-depth

Priceless heritage websites in Lebanon have sustained irreparable harm from Israel’s air marketing campaign throughout its struggle in opposition to Hizbollah, specialists say. One preservation group says at the least 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 struggle with Hizbollah — and a ceasefire in November.

We’re additionally studying…

• Yr 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.

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

• Trump 2.0: The incoming US president is selecting nominees with vested curiosity to be in command 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 — at the least not but, writes Robin Harding.

Charts of the yr

With a couple of and a half billion ballots solid in elections throughout 73 nations, 2024 provided a uncommon alternative to take the social and political temperature of just about half of the world’s inhabitants. Right here’s what the “year 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 potential paths to victory for both candidate.

And outdoors the political realm, Claer Barrett’s piece on tips on how to defend your monetary knowledge with the rise of telephone theft was the most well-liked. Her recommendation is as helpful now because it was when the story was first printed in Might.