In Germany, an entrepreneur was imprisoned for seven years for selling machine tools to a Russian arms manufacturer

The Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart, Germany, sentenced a 56-year-old man to seven years in prison for selling machine tools for the production of sniper rifles to a Russian weapons manufacturer in violation of trade restrictions.

This was reported by Spiegel, according to “European Truth”.

According to the court's decision, the managing director of a company in Baden-Württemberg 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 for the production and trade of modern machine tools and had long-standing business relations with Russian arms manufacturers.

Despite the fact that in 2014 the European Union introduced extensive trade restrictions due to the annexation of Crimea by Russia, in the spring of 2015 the man concluded contracts with a Russian arms manufacturer for the supply of a total of six machines. The delivery of the machines was hidden, the court said.

In one case, used machines were imported to Russia through a third-party company from Switzerland. Another machine was exported through Lithuania. In each case, the man is alleged to have lied to authorities about the true purpose and recipient of the machines.

“The machines supplied by the accused were second-hand but functional and intended as so-called dual-purpose goods for the mass production of high-precision sniper rifles on the territory of Russia”, – the prosecutor's office said.

The defendant himself earned 2.1 million euros from crimes. The Swiss holding company controlled by the 56-year-old defendant participated in the crimes and earned about three million euros. This amount was confiscated by the High Land Court, as were the husband's profits from the illegal business.

The managing director was arrested in August 2023 on the basis of a European arrest warrant. He remains in custody.

The court verdict has not yet entered into legal force.

Recently, German investigative journalists established that despite the sanctions in 2023, German companies could deliver more than 300 cargoes to Russia, which could be used for the production of vehicle parts or ammunition.