Indictment by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office
Entrepreneur is said to have delivered drone components to Russia
March 5, 2024, 4:45 p.m
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The German-Russian Waldemar W. is said to have exported components worth 875,000 euros from Saarland to a Russian company that produces drones for the Ukraine war. That’s why he’s now being charged. Sham companies and his assistant Natalie S. are said to have made W’s business possible.
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has brought charges against an entrepreneur in Saarland for prohibited deliveries to a Russian company. According to the Karlsruhe authorities, the German-Russian Waldemar W. is said to have delivered electronic components in 54 cases between 2020 and March 2023 to a company in Russia that produces military material and accessories, including a drone used in the Ukraine war.
Because of the EU embargo, such components are not allowed to be delivered to Russia. According to the indictment, W. is said to have circumvented the sanctions by first importing the goods into Germany from abroad and then delivering them to Russia. He is said to have partly worked with Natalie S. on this.
According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the woman, who also has German and Russian citizenship, runs a company in Baden-Württemberg controlled by W. She is said to have supported W. in 14 cases by telling the upstream supplier that the goods would remain in Germany. Charges have now also been brought against S..
Arrest in March 2023
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office also said that the electronic parts were first delivered to two civilian shell companies based in Russia, which then, in consultation with W., forwarded them to the military manufacturer. After the start of the war in Ukraine, W. started transporting the goods to Russia with the help of advanced recipients in third countries. The total value of the exported components is said to be around 875,000 euros.
W. was initially arrested in March last year on the basis of an arrest warrant from the Mannheim district court. Then the Federal Prosecutor’s Office took over the investigation because of the importance of the case. W. is in custody. S. was also taken into custody in March 2023, but the arrest warrant was suspended at the end of May.
W. is now accused of having repeatedly violated the Foreign Trade Act in a commercial manner. The accusation against S. is that he aided and abetted some of these violations. The Stuttgart Higher Regional Court will decide whether to admit the charges.