Five suspects arrested in Germany for illicit procurement of military equipment for Russia

German prosecutors have arrested five people on suspicion of forming a criminal organisation engaged in the illicit procurement of military equipment for Russian companies.

According to the prosecutor's office, the suspects, including citizens of Germany, Ukraine and Russia, are accused of making about 16,000 deliveries to Russia in circumvention of European Union sanctions.

To conceal these operations, the defendants used at least one shell company in Lübeck, fake customers in the European Union and beyond, and a Russian company as a recipient, where one of the detained individuals holds a management position.

The network has purchased goods worth at least €30 million since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine. The recipients were 24 registered weapons manufacturers in Russia. The prosecutor's office reported that Russian state institutions are also suspected of involvement in this procurement network.

Law enforcement agencies are currently searching for five more suspects who belong to the organisation.

In January, Germany reported the detention of a woman holding Ukrainian and German citizenship on suspicion of espionage. After that, Germany expelled a Russian embassy employee on espionage charges. The Russian embassy called the accusations "provocation".

Earlier, it became known that the German Federal Public Prosecutor General had charged Ukrainians Danylo B. and Vladyslav T. with attempting to send parcels with explosives on behalf of the Russian secret services.