Cucinelli under fire for allegedly violating Moscow sanctions; the house reaffirms compliance with EU rules

Brunello Cucinelli is under fire, accused of circumventing EU sanctions against Russia, which prohibit the sale of goods valued over 300 euros. The company is also accused of “weakening the brand's exclusive positioning” through a policy of “aggressive discounts” to conceal the need to clear “inflated” inventory.

According to the Ansa news agency, the turmoil on the stock market was triggered by a report from Morpheus Research. The brand's shares plummeted by 17.3 percent to 85 euros yesterday. Morpheus Research is a financial investigation firm founded in 2025 with the stated aim of “exposing misconduct in the financial markets”, as detailed on its website.

Cucinelli presented its spring/summer 2026 collection last Wednesday in Milan during fashion week. The company has reserved the right to consider legal action “to protect its reputation and the interests of all its stakeholders”. It has also firmly reaffirmed its “full compliance with EU rules” and ruled out “any suggestion of using the Russian market to reduce inventory and clear remaining stock”.

Morpheus analysts claim that, contrary to the Solomeo-based company's statements, its three Russian stores are still open and selling items worth thousands of euros.

Revenues also reportedly benefit from third-party distribution channels, such as the luxury department store Tsum. These channels are allegedly supplied through a triangulation system involving “obscure” Chinese, Lithuanian and Iranian companies that import the Umbrian house's fine cashmere garments, thereby circumventing EU sanctions.

According to Morpheus, the “covert” continuation of activities in Russia would also explain the stability of the company's accounts. This is despite the loss of a market that was worth 9 percent of turnover in 2021 and now officially accounts for just 2 percent. Morpheus estimates that between 2021 and 2023, exports to Russia increased by 715 percent in terms of weight.

In a statement, the fashion house Brunello Cucinelli firmly confirms its full compliance with EU rules regarding its activities in the Russian market.

“In response to the news released this morning (yesterday, September 25, ed.) by some press agencies, we recall that at the beginning of the conflict, we chose to maintain our local structure. We have continued to guarantee full salaries for employees and vendors and to honour lease agreements, as we have always done worldwide, even in extraordinary situations.”

“Currently, our staff offers an assistance service within our showroom at the request of end customers. The product used is that which was regularly shipped to Russia within the limits established by the European Union, along with the remaining portion of the inventory delivered before the sanctions were introduced. In this way, we are able to generate the necessary resources locally to cover salaries and rent,” the management further emphasised. They specified that the brand's dedicated spaces within larger multi-brand structures remain operational.

“Checks carried out by the Italian Customs Agency have confirmed full compliance with procedures. Similarly, no reports have been received from foreign customs authorities that could suggest commercial triangulation,” the management observed in the statement. They added that the Russian market's impact on turnover has decreased by more than two-thirds compared to 2021, now standing at around 2 percent.

Specifically, the value of exports to the cashmere brand's Russian subsidiary has decreased from 16 million euros in 2021 to 5 million euros in 2024. This data is available in the annual financial statements.

“We believe these figures are sufficient to correctly frame this issue and to rule out any suggestion of using the Russian market to reduce inventory and clear remaining stock. The company is considering legal action to protect its reputation and the interests of all its stakeholders,” the house concluded.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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