UPDATE 1-Germany arrests five for supplying Russian defence firms

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.

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)

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