The former leader of a German company specializing in precision tools is under suspicion for potentially exporting products to the Russian weapons sector, as revealed by Germany's prosecutor-general on August 24, DW reports.
The individual in question, identified under the pseudonym Ulli S. in line with German privacy laws, has been detained and is presently in custody. The allegation against him involves the assertion that he entered into three contracts with a Russian arms manufacturer back in 2015. These agreements supposedly involved the supply of six machine tools, which, according to prosecutors, were subsequently used by the Russian company for the production of sniper rifles.
Further details regarding the case include the revelation that the tools were dispatched with the aid of intermediary firms, using routes through Switzerland and Lithuania, as disclosed by the federal public prosecutor's office. The businessman allegedly orchestrated these deliveries through other entities he had established, as well as via another Russian company, all with the intention of masking the illicit nature of these transactions.
The total value of the sale was reportedly around $2.17mn (€2mn). Additionally, records suggest that the German company assisted in training personnel from the Russian arms manufacturer to operate the tools in 2016, as stated by federal prosecutors.
Further allegations against the German businessman involve his supposed importation of four sniper rifles from the Russian firm at the beginning of 2015, under the pretext of using them for "test purposes."
The suspect was apprehended in France on August 10 following a European arrest warrant. Subsequently, he was transferred to German custody at Frankfurt Airport on August 22.
The European Union enforced sanctions against Moscow in 2014 after Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. These sanctions included restrictions on arms and material exports. More stringent sanctions were introduced following Russia's incursion into Ukraine in early 2022.
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