Germany blocks sales of sanctioned technologies to Russia
The Russian military industry continues to lose suppliers of Western technologies, which have to be purchased illegally because of the sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union.
On Tuesday, the German Prosecutor General's Office, together with customs officers, detained in Leipzig a businessman who had been selling sanctioned equipment to Russia since 2018.
German citizen Alexander S., managing director of a trading firm in Saxony, cooperated with a Russian company whose procurement activities are "controlled by Russian special services," RIA Novosti quoted a statement from the German Prosecutor's Office.
In violation of the law on foreign trade and sanctions prohibiting the supply military equipment and dual-use technologies to Russia, the businessman sold twice "high quality machines" to Russia without obtaining permission from the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA).
The investigation found that the suspect entered into two contracts on behalf of his company to supply dual-use goods for the needs of the Russian defense industry, and then supplied two machines - in June and July 2019.
In July 2014, the European Union, together with the United States, imposed a ban on the sale of dual-use technologies to Russia, in response to Russia’s involvement in the downing of MH17 Boeing over the Donbas. Since then, these restrictions have been repeatedly extended.
In March 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced another tightening of technological sanctions prohibiting exports of National Security-Sensitive goods and technology to Russia.