FACT CHECK: Apple’s iPhone 15 Sold in Russia Despite Sanctions | VOA News

On September 21, news media in Russia reported that MTS, Russia’s largest communications provider, had presented in its Moscow store Apple’s new iPhone 15 that day – 24 hours before the start of global sales.

MTS (short for Mobile TeleSystems) operates in Russia, Belarus and Armenia, providing telecommunications services to some 80 million subscribers.

In July 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission delisted it from the New York Stock Exchange due to the sanctions.

Lenta.ru, a mainstream news site owned by the Russian government through a subsidiary of the Sberbank state bank, reported:

“MTS was the first company in Russia to present the iPhone 15 Pro Max in its flagship store a day before the start of global sales. ... At the MTS presentation, store visitors were able to test the new product and receive detailed advice.”

That is true.

MTS presented the iPhone 15 on September 21, the Russian business daily RBC’s correspondent reported from the MTS “flagman store in Moscow.”

All versions of iPhone 15 are also offered on MTS’ website for online orders, using cash or the company’s loan system. The prices range from about 125,000 to 170,000 rubles, which, converted to U.S. dollars, is consistent with the price range in the United States.

On March 1, 2022, Apple announced that it suspended all sales of its products and services in Russia. So did more than a thousand Western companies in response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Apple also stopped making apps for Russia’s state-owned media outlets RT News and Sputnik News available for download from its App Store outside Russia.

So, how is it possible that the U.S. high-tech giant’s latest upgrade of its iconic iPhone was present on the Russian market even before its global sales' debut?

That is because of the “parallel imports” scheme the Russian government has been using since March 2022 to avoid a shortage of goods in the domestic market. #Russia #factcheck #voanews