Five arrested in Germany over $32 million worth of illegal exports to Russian arms makers

German customs officers have arrested five men on suspicion of violating European Union sanctions on Russia by exporting industrial goods to Russian arms manufacturers.

According to a Politico report, citing a statement from the Office of Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor General, the suspects organised around 16,000 shipments to Russia, with illegal transactions worth at least €30 million (approx $32 million).

The arrests come amid renewed calls from Kyiv for European governments to tighten controls on exports of industrial equipment and components that Russia could use to produce weapons for its war in Ukraine.

Among those charged are two men holding dual German-Russian citizenship and one with dual German-Ukrainian citizenship, prosecutors said.

Authorities said the investigation centres on a trading company based in the northern German city of Lübeck, owned by a suspect identified by the court as Nikita S.

Since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, he and the other defendants have used the company to conspiratorially procure goods for Russian industry and export them to Russia on numerous occasions," Politico quoted prosecutors as saying.

“To conceal their activities, the defendants used at least one other shell company in Lübeck, fictitious buyers inside and outside the European Union, and a Russian company as the recipient, for which Nikita S. also holds a position of responsibility,” they added.

Prosecutors said the goods were supplied to at least 24 sanctioned Russian defence companies, with Russian government agencies allegedly facilitating the purchases.

The exports included mechanical and technical components used in weapons manufacturing, such as ball bearings and semiconductor devices, according to public broadcaster ARD.

With inputs from agencies