Sanctions in action!
In a live thriller that is the sequel to What Russians Think, UPS heroically thwarted a malignant actor: me.
As one would, I attempted to send an advance copy of the magnum opus to
@olegderipaska, who is, of course, the main protagonist of the sanctions chapter.
I did know that U. S. companies are asked to screen mail for sanctioned recepients, but wait... The package was going from London to Moscow. Deripaska is not under santions in the UK, RSISG has no U. S. presence, and yours truly, at the moment of sending, was not a U. S. person compelled to comply with sanctions (it is complicated, so take my word for it). In other words, the United States had nothing whatsoever to do with the package. No U. S. parties were involved, and the package was not going anywhere near the U. S. Customs value of £1 was declared, but the purpose was to inform, not provide material benefit. I paid to send it, and so UPS, a U. S. company, transacted only with me. Sanctions were not violated, right?
Oh, boy! SEVENTEEN people from UPS offices in Kentucky were on an email thread by which it informed me that UPS will not facilitate my malignant attempt to unlawfully associate myself with a dangerous entity, Basic Element. When I challenged one official, he suggested that I myself was liable to sanctions because I am "facilitating a prohibited transaction". Really, asshole? There is a proverb for that in Russian - заставь дурака богу молиться, он и лоб расшибет. Make and idiot pray, he will bloody his forehead. Last I checked, sanctions prohibited transactions, not communication! What business does anyone in Kentucky have policing relationships between people in Moscow and London?! The halfwits only stopped writing to me about the dangers of associating with Deripaska (whom i have never met), when I informed them that I was myself a lawyer by training, and wrote a book about the very same sanctions.
I had to send books to Moscow with an actual physical person to be given out to VIPs, including Deripaska.
It took a week to get the package back from UPS, and when it was returned, it looked as if it spent a week in a barn and horses were made to jump on it. (see pics in a following post). I am still fighting to get my £27 back.
I gave the surplus book to
@kashinguru, since it already said "Dear Oleg!" on it.
The morale is, this shit is insane.