Germany exposes sanctions-busting network feeding Russia’s defense industry

Details of the investigation and arrests

According to Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office, law enforcement arrested five individuals in the port city of Lübeck and the neighboring district of Herzogtum Lauenburg. Those detained include citizens of Germany, Ukraine, and Russia.

Investigators found that since February 2022, the group had organized approximately 16,000 shipments of goods with a total value of €30 million ($36 million). The purchases were coordinated directly by Russian state entities. The final recipients were 24 Russian defense companies.

How the scheme worked

The central element of the network was a trading company based in Lübeck, controlled by one of the suspects who holds dual German and Russian citizenship. To conceal the exports, the group used:

• shell companies;

• fake recipients both within the European Union and outside it;

• a front company registered in Russia.

In addition to those arrested, five other suspects remain at large. Authorities have already conducted searches in Frankfurt am Main and Nuremberg and have frozen assets equivalent to the value of the illegal transactions.

Reaction of German authorities

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil stated that the arrests demonstrate the country’s determination to crack down on sanctions violations.

According to him, the operation confirms Germany’s serious commitment to enforcing EU-level sanctions.

Military supplies to Russia from Finland

Earlier, journalists uncovered around 20 logistics companies in Finland of Russian origin that had been exporting components for Russia’s defense industry.

Among the goods delivered to customers linked to the FSB and Russia’s military-industrial complex were sensors, diesel engines, fuel pumps, as well as optical and electronic equipment.

According to an investigation by Yle, the exports were carried out both directly and through intermediaries in third countries, including Uzbekistan.