His lawyer, Stanislas Eskénazi of Perspicere, told POLITICO that the exported chemical was not itself illegal and argued that the court had imposed an unusually harsh sentence because Labin was originally from Russia.
According to the ruling, Labin and a Brussels-based entrepreneur falsified customs documents and routed shipments through companies in countries including Turkey, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to conceal their final destination in Russia.
At the trial, the federal prosecutor’s office confirmed he is suspected of being a foreign intelligence officer for the Russian GRU.
His son, Ruslan Labin, who prosecutors said acted as an intermediary for imports into Moscow, was sentenced in absentia to six years in prison. The court also ordered his immediate arrest.
Labin has already spent a year in custody in Haren prison; Eskénazi said his client could be eligible for parole within months because of time already served.
This article has been updated.