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When Moscow resident Zoya, 62, was planning a trip to Italy to visit her daughter last August, she saw the perfect opportunity to buy the Apple Watch she had long dreamed of owning.Officially, Apple does not sell its products in Russia.

The California-based tech giant was one of the first companies to announce it would exit the country in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.But the week before her trip, Zoya made a surprise discovery while browsing Yandex.Market, one of several Russian answers to Amazon, where she regularly shops.Not only was the Apple Watch available for sale on the website, it was cheaper than in Italy.

Zoya bought the watch without a moment’s delay.The serial code on the watch that was delivered to her home confirmed that it was manufactured by Apple in 2022 and intended for sale in the United States.

“In the store, they explained to me that these are genuine Apple products entering Russia through parallel imports,” Zoya, who asked to be only referred to by her first name, told Al Jazeera.

“I thought it was much easier to buy online than searching for a store in an unfamiliar country.”Other Western brands readily available in Russia denied any involvement in supplying goods to the country and pointed to their efforts to maintain control over their supply chains.

“Audi has not been supplying cars directly or knowingly indirectly to Russia since March 2022. There is currently no licensed importer for the import of vehicles in Russia. We do not accept grey market imports of cars or original Audi parts to Russia,” Audi told Al Jazeera in a written statement to Al Jazeera.Mercedes said it had taken measures to ensure control over the sale of its vehicles.

“We have installed intensive awareness and control measures in our global dealer network to minimise the risk of potential sanctions circumvention,” a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson told Al Jazeera, explaining that such measures included audits of authorised partners.A number of companies, including German firms Tchibo and Henkel, told Al Jazeera that they have limited means to prevent parallel imports.