The minister responsible for the UK’s sanctions against Russia has told UK carmakers to check their supply chains after Sky News analysis suggested luxury models were finding their way to Moscow showrooms via ex-Soviet states.

Foreign Office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan told a committee of MPs the report was a prime example of the “whack a mole” challenge created by the trading controls imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

Sky reported on Tuesday morning that while direct British car exports to Russia had fallen to zero, that collapse had been followed by a corresponding increase in car exports to countries neighbouring Russia, most notably Azerbaijan.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

The analysis, based on official HMRC trade data, showed the UK exported £273m of vehicles to Azerbaijan last year, a 1,860% increase compared with the five-year period preceding the war.

Separate figures recorded an unprecedented increase in car exports to Russia from Azerbaijan.

It has raised existing fears that other products, not just luxury cars, may be finding their way from the UK to Russia through a back door.

Responding to a question on the Sky report during evidence to the foreign affairs committee of MPs, Ms Trevelyan said she expected companies to follow the clear guidance surrounding supply chains.

How UK-made cars are getting into Russia despite sanctions

‘We will share the risks’: Sweden’s NATO membership cemented in flag-raising ceremony

Zelenskyy dismisses Pope Francis’s call for Ukraine to negotiate peace with Russia

“It sets out very clearly that they shouldn’t be doing business, obviously, with Russia or potentially with a third country that might support Russia”, she said.

The minister added: “If it appears that there is a diversionary activity to sell goods that have a potential both dual use and value, then there is a need for those businesses to consider their position and for DBT (Department for Business and Trade) and now the Office of Trade team to have conversations with them.”

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

She said companies legitimately may not have seen a risk, “and I think this is the challenge of whack a mole”, she concluded.

Carmakers have insisted they are not supplying vehicles to Russia.

Its lobby group, the SMMT, said they were committed to the rules and continuing that vigilance.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

It added that manufacturers “would condemn any party that puts their commitment to compliance at risk”.

Related posts:

Banks wary as Sunak prepares £100 contactless limit Volvo joins race to go all-electric by 2030 and will shift all sales online Summer aviation, buy-now-pay-later and sensor tech ‘Race for space’ drives average house price above £250k for the first time Better than expected growth for economy as Sunak faces pressure to ease squeeze from inflation Goldman chases stake in £700m financial advice platform Nucleus THG hits high note with sale of music retailer Zavvi Average mortgage rates rise again after brief fall Government rebuffs pleas from stricken battery maker AMTE Power ‘It’s about the dignity of every worker’: Delivery drivers to strike on Valentine’s Day Former Post Office clerk cleared of fraud linked to Horizon scandal Wages rising less than before and unemployment on the up