"The suspects allegedly used a company based in the Baltic Sea port city of Lübeck to arrange about 16,000 shipments to Russia in recent years, the Federal Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. The investigation, including raids at additional locations, was conducted by customs agents in cooperation with Germany's foreign intelligence service BND, said the office, based in the western city of Karlsruhe."
"The prosecutors said the procurement network 'was presumably operated by Russian state agencies' and that the recipients included 'at least 24 listed arms companies in Russia'. Newspaper Bild named the company targeted as Global Trade, and showed masked customs officers searching the premises in an industrial area and carrying away boxes of seized evidence. Among those arrested was the trading company's managing director, partially identified as German-Russian dual national Nikita S."
Five people were arrested in Germany for exporting goods worth at least 30 million euros to Russia, including shipments to more than 20 arms companies, in violation of EU sanctions. A Lübeck-based company arranged about 16,000 shipments to Russia in recent years. Customs agents carried out raids in cooperation with Germany's foreign intelligence service BND. The procurement network was presumed to be operated by Russian state agencies, and recipients included at least 24 listed Russian arms companies. Newspaper Bild identified the company as Global Trade and showed masked customs officers seizing evidence. The managing director was partially identified as German-Russian dual national Nikita S. The operation used shell companies, sham customers and a Russian recipient company to conceal transactions and circumvent EU embargo regulations.
Read at The Local Germany
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