German prosecutors investigate possible sanctions violations by tenants of Russian House in Berlin

The Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating possible sanctions violations by tenants of the Russian House cultural centre, which was closed by German authorities in response to Russia's attempted attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport. 

Source: the prosecutor's office in a comment to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The German government decided to close the Russian House cultural centre in Berlin in September. However, a bookshop called MnogoKnig selling Russian literature, a canteen and a visa agency continue to operate within the building.

It remains unclear who exactly is running these establishments and who is profiting from their activities.

The Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed that it is investigating possible violations of EU sanctions.

"Investigations are ongoing against unknown persons or tenants of the Russian House for violations of the Foreign Trade and Payments Act," the Berlin Public Prosecutor General's Office told Süddeutsche Zeitung in response to an inquiry.

As the Russian House in Berlin is part of the structure of Rossotrudnichestvo (the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States' Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation), which has been on the EU sanctions list since 2022 because of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, providing it with funds is prohibited.

"For example, payments are considered a violation if they benefit a person who is on the sanctions list," Germany's Finance Ministry said in response to an inquiry. Therefore, any payment from which Rossotrudnichestvo benefits constitutes a sanctions violation.

By imposing sanctions on the Russian agency, Berlin also terminated a 2011 German-Russian agreement that had formed the basis for cultural cooperation between the two countries. However, the cultural centre in the German capital remains Russian property, as another agreement from 2013 provides for a 99-year lease term.

Background:

• On 1 September, Germany directly accused Russia of carrying out a hybrid attack at Leipzig Airport in early August and announced retaliatory measures, including the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian House in Berlin.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that, following Germany's decision to terminate the agreement governing the operation of the Russian House in Berlin, Russia would respond by closing all three branches of the Goethe-Institut in the country – in Moscow, St Petersburg and Novosibirsk.

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