German businessman jailed for selling machine tools to Russian weapons manufacturer

The Higher Land Court of Stuttgart, Germany, has sentenced a 56-year-old man to seven years in prison for selling machines for the production of sniper rifles to a Russian arms manufacturer in violation of trade restrictions.

As reported by Spiegel, The court said that the managing director of the Baden-Württemberg-based company violated the Foreign Trade Act in several cases. The defendant pleaded not guilty during the trial, which lasted several months.

According to preliminary information from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the man ran a company that manufactured and traded in modern machine tools and had long-standing business relations with Russian arms manufacturers.

Despite the extensive trade restrictions the European Union imposed in 2014 due to Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the man signed contracts with a Russian arms manufacturer in the spring of 2015 for the supply of a total of six machines. The court stated that the man concealed the delivery of the machines.

In one instance, a third-party company from Switzerland imported the used machines into Russia. Another machine was exported through Lithuania. In each case, the man allegedly deceived the authorities about the true purpose and recipient of the machines.

“The machines supplied by the accused were used but serviceable and were intended as so-called dual-use goods for the mass production of high-precision sniper rifles in Russia,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

The defendant earned 2.1 million euros from the crimes. The 56-year-old defendant controlled a Swiss holding company that participated in the crimes and earned approximately three million euros. The Higher Land Court confiscated both this amount and the man’s earnings from the illegal business.

A European arrest warrant led to the managing director’s arrest in France in August 2023. He remains in custody. The court verdict has not yet entered into force.

German investigative journalists recently discovered that, despite the sanctions, German companies could have delivered more than 300 cargoes to Russia in 2023 for the production of vehicle parts or ammunition.