BERLIN, Feb 2 (Reuters) – German federal prosecutors said on Monday they had detained five individuals accused of operating a network that exported goods to Russian defence companies, contravening European Union sanctions imposed following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Federal Prosecutors’ Office said the arrests were carried out by customs officers in Luebeck, a Baltic Sea port city in northern Germany, and the surrounding Herzogtum Lauenburg district. The suspects — identified as German, Ukrainian, and Russian nationals — were apprehended under warrants issued by the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice.
According to prosecutors, concurrent searches were conducted at various locations, including Frankfurt am Main, a major financial centre, and the Bavarian city of Nuremberg. Five additional suspects, who remain at large, are also under investigation.
One suspect, identified as Nikita S., a German-Russian national, is alleged to have controlled a trading company in Luebeck suspected of being at the centre of the operation.
Prosecutors claim the suspects utilized shell companies, fake recipients within and outside the EU, and a Russian entity to obscure the shipments.
The prosecutors said that Russian state agencies are suspected to have directed the procurement activities, with 24 listed Russian defence firms allegedly serving as end-users.
The prosecutor’s office estimated that approximately 16,000 shipments worth at least 30 million euros ($36 million) in total had been arranged since February 2022.
An asset freeze has been ordered against the equivalent value of these transactions, the office said.
The Russian embassy in Berlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
($1 = 0.8437 euros)
(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle, Editing by Miranda Murray and Ludwig Burger)
