Vienna-based company exposed over supply of components to Russian armed forces

Austria has uncovered a scheme in which a Vienna-based company supplied equipment used to manufacture engines for Russian missiles and fighter jets, in breach of European Union sanctions.

Source: Austria's Ministry of the Interior on 10 August, as reported by Reuters

Details: The ministry said in a statement that the company falsified end-user certificates in order to supply sanctioned equipment, including specialised metalworking tools and CNC machines that can be used to manufacture parts and tools.

The ministry also said the company's 28-year-old Belarusian executive had been arrested in May.

The company, which the ministry did not name, concealed its shipments through a network of shell companies in Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Poland and Lithuania.

The equipment was supplied to companies linked to Rostec, Russia's state-owned industrial conglomerate, the ministry said. The latest findings by investigators indicate that the goods were used to manufacture military equipment, including engines for cruise missiles and fighter jets.

The Russian embassy in Vienna declined to comment. Rostec did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On the same day the main suspect was detained, the authorities seized CNC machines and specialised tools worth about €140,000.

Evidence seized during four raids in August last year indicates that industrial goods worth more than €3.3 million had been supplied to Russian arms manufacturers since 2022, the ministry added.

Background: It was reported earlier that Russia is seeking to secure its own production of lithium-ion batteries for FPV drones by arranging supplies of the necessary materials to the country.

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