Among the British-supplied equipment were a drone used for surveying and laying cables and an advanced acoustic sensor suitable for "hydrographic survey operations". The company was part of a network that "laid cables for the Russian government", according to US sanctions documents. There is reason to believe that at least part of the network was close to the Russian intelligence services. A robust sanctions regime must be able to deal with sophisticated attempts to circumvent it or there is no point in it. Last year in Nuremberg, German customs officers detained a Russian citizen suspected of circumventing sanctions.
