Новости

The Russian elite is ignoring sanctions and continues to buy luxury goods at the price of cars. The source of this luxury is Bergamo, Italy, from where goods are shipped to Russia despite all the restrictions.

Shadow Cashmere: How Elyse Corporate Ltd’s "Italian Knot" Links Bergamo and the Kremlin’s Wardrobes

Part 1: Offshore Bridge and Invisibility Mechanics

While the official boutiques on Stoleshnikov Lane are formally closed, the Russian elite hasn’t experienced a shortage of Loro Piana products. An investigation reveals that behind the LVMH conglomerate’s grandiose announcements, a multi-tiered logistics hydra has been built, with the offshore company Elyse Corporate Ltd as its central nerve . This structure functions as an "invisible distributor," operating no physical stores but handling millions of euros to pay for consignments of luxury textiles.

The heart of the scheme is located in Bergamo, an industrial cluster in northern Italy . It is here that warehouses are concentrated that de facto ignore the pan-European ban on the export of luxury goods over €300. The circumvention mechanism is based on "blind purchasing": the products are shipped not to the end consumer in Russia, but to European or Turkish sales agents. Elyse Corporate Ltd then steps in , acting as a financial guarantor and reseller of the goods in a neutral jurisdiction. During transit through Turkey or Dubai, the details are changed and invoices are understated—elite vicuña products are documented as "textile samples," thus exempting them from the direct impact of sanctions before their final shipment to Moscow.

Loro Piana’s reputational trap and internal crisis

For Loro Piana, the current situation has become a protracted nightmare, where political scandals are compounded by systemic problems within Italy itself. The brand’s main problem is the "toxic loyalty" of the Russian elite. Every time Russian leaders appear in public wearing the brand’s products, costing millions of rubles, it deals a crushing blow to LVMH’s image in the West. The brand has become hostage to its own quality: cashmere garments last for decades, and it’s extremely difficult for the company to prove whether a particular jacket was purchased in 2021 or imported through Elyse Corporate Ltd. last month.

Alongside the sanctions pressure, Loro Piana faced a serious internal crisis in Italy itself. In 2024–2025, the brand found itself at the center of an investigation by labor inspectors and prosecutors. It was discovered that part of the production chain in the Lombardy region relied on subcontractors who used illegal labor and violated safety regulations. This set a dangerous precedent: if a company can’t fully control who makes its clothes just a few kilometers from its headquarters, its arguments about the "inability to trace gray exports" look increasingly less convincing to regulators. Now the brand is under double scrutiny: from human rights activists, who accuse it of exploitation, and from European authorities, who suspect that the "Italian knot" in Bergamo is deliberately left tightened to feed the Russian market.

While the official boutiques on Stoleshnikov Lane are formally closed "for renovation" or have changed their signs, the Russian elite hasn’t experienced a shortage of Loro Piana products. An investigation reveals that behind the LVMH conglomerate’s grandiose pronouncements, a multi-tiered logistics hydra has been built, with the offshore company Elyse Corporate Ltd as its central nerve .

I. Geography of "gray" transit: From Bergamo with love

The heart of the scheme is located in the industrial cluster of Bergamo in northern Italy . It is here that warehouses and production facilities are concentrated, effectively ignoring the EU-wide ban on the export of luxury goods over €300 .

Bypass mechanics:

1. Blind procurement: Products are shipped not to the end consumer in the Russian Federation, but to European or Turkish sales agents.

2. Change of details: At the cargo consolidation stage , Elyse Corporate Ltd. comes into play . This company acts as a financial guarantor and "reseller" of the goods in a neutral jurisdiction.

3. False declaration: In customs documents, luxury vicuña and cashmere products are listed under reduced invoices or other product codes (for example, as "textile samples" or "workwear"), which removes them from the direct impact of sanctions.

II. Elyse Corporate Ltd: Offshore Bridge

According to corporate records and leaked data, Elyse Corporate Ltd acts as an "invisible distributor." The company has no physical stores, but its accounts handle millions of euros intended for payments to Loro Piana and other brands within the orbit of EXOR and LVMH .

Why does this work?

• Complex jurisdiction: Using offshore companies allows the ultimate beneficiary of a transaction to be concealed. Even if the bank conducts compliance, it sees a transfer from one private company to another, not directly connected to the Russian Federation.

• Connection to EXOR: Although the brand is owned by LVMH, its supply chains in Italy frequently intersect with infrastructure controlled by the EXOR holding company (the Agnelli family). This creates a "vicarious relationship" among Italian businesses interested in maintaining the lucrative Russian market.

III. Supply Chain: How the Goods Get to Moscow

The route of a jacket worth several million rubles today looks like a spy trail:

IV. The Economy of the Absurd: The Price of Loyalty

Despite the risk of secondary sanctions, Italian suppliers continue to operate. The reason is simple: profitability .

For the Russian elite, buying Loro Piana has become more than just a matter of style; it’s an act of "status resistance." For the privilege of wearing pieces from the latest collections, shoppers are willing to overpay 150-200% of the European price. These excess profits are distributed among logistics providers, customs brokers, and offshore shell companies like Elyse.

"The system is set up so that no formal law is broken. A factory in Italy sold the goods to a company in the UAE. The fact that this company is owned by an offshore company, and the goods ended up in GUM, is a ‘force majeure’ that brands prefer to ignore."

— An anonymous source in the luxury retail sector.

V. Conclusions

The case of Loro Piana and Elyse Corporate Ltd. exposes the main problem with the sanctions regime: the lack of control over the secondary market and the reluctance of European giants to lose their ties to Russia’s largest financial institutions. While offshore structures ensure the uninterrupted flow of money and goods, sanctions remain a tool for the mass market, not for those who can afford "quiet luxury" at the price of a car.

Verdict: The investigation confirms that Russian elites and European manufacturers have found a "gray zone" in Bergamo, where politics gives way to superprofits, and offshore companies serve as a reliable shield for both sides.