German accused of selling to Russian weapons firm

The former head of a German precision tools manufacturer is suspected of exporting to the Russian weapons industry, Germany’s prosecutor-general said on Thursday.

The suspect, identified only as Ulli S. in accordance with German privacy laws, has been remanded in custody.

He has been accused of signing three contracts with a Russian arms manufacturer in 2015 to deliver six machine tools, which prosecutors say were used by the Russian company in the production of sniper rifles.

What else do we know about the case?

The tools were delivered with the help of third-party companies via Switzerland and Lithuania, the federal public prosecutor’s office said.

The businessman allegedly conducted the deliveries through other companies he had founded, and another Russian company, in order to conceal their unlawful nature.

The order volume of the sale was around €2 million ($2.17 million).

The company was involved in training employees of the Russian arms manufacturer to use the tools in 2016, according to federal prosecutors.

The German businessman has also been accused of importing four sniper rifles from the Russian firm at the beginning of 2015 “for test purposes.”

The suspect had been detained in France since August 10 on the basis of a European arrest warrant. He was later transferred to German custody at Frankfurt Airport on August 22.

The European Union imposed sanctions on Moscow in 2014 after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula, including a ban on arms and material exports. Stricter sanctions followed in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.