Dutch companies suspected of helping build bridge between Russia, Crimea

The Public Prosecutor is investigating the involvement of seven Dutch companies in the construction of a bridge from Russia to Crimea. Due to EU sanctions against Russia, Dutch companies were not allowed to help build that bridge, NU.nl reports.

The Prosecutor refused to say which seven companies are being investigated. According to newspaper AD, a company from Milsbeek and a company from Dodewaard are among them. The company from Dodewaard supplied a pile driver that was used to construct the bridge, and the company from Milsbeek supplied important components for it, the newspaper writes. De Gelderlander reports that employees of the Milsbeek company were actually in Russia during the construction of the bridge.

According to the newspapers, the companies thought they could circumvent the European Union sanctions by only working on the Russian side of the border.

The Crimea used to be part of the Ukraine, but was annexed by Russia in March 2014. The annexation of the peninsula was strongly condemned by the West and led to sanctions against Russia. The EU sanctions state that European companies are not allowed to import goods from the Crimea and may not invest there, among other things. Under the sanction, involvement in the construction of the bridge is also not permitted.

The 19 kilometers long bridge was built because their was no direct connection from Russia to Crimea. The bridge will open next weekend.