The trial of two German-Russian dual nationals accused of illegally supplying electronic components to Russia for use in building military drones began on Friday in the southwestern German city of Stuttgart.
At the opening hearing in Stuttgart’s Higher Regional Court, a federal prosecutor said the Orlan 10 drones the pair are said to have indirectly helped build were of “paramount importance” to Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
Prosecutors accused the main defendant, a 59-year-old man from the western state of Saarland, of 54 violations of European Union sanctions against Russia.
The businessman, director of two companies who has been in custody since March last year, is said to have misled his American suppliers by assuring them that the components, including transmitters, microchips and insulators worth a total of 875,000 euros, would remain in Germany. .
He then delivered the parts to front companies in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Hong Kong, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, from where they were sent to Russian military suppliers.
According to the indictment, the man repackaged the deliveries to mask the fact that they were under Russian sanctions and therefore required an export permit. He did not declare the goods to the German Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control.
The man’s partner, a 53-year-old woman from the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, is accused of assisting him in 14 cases. She allegedly told American suppliers that the parts were intended for her own company and submitted false documentation.
According to previous information from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the businesswoman was also initially arrested, but released last year.
The man did not comment on the allegations on the first day of the trial. However, in a character statement he made, he said he was against the war and did not support either side.
“I am against war and do not want to participate in this madness,” he declared. “I want countries to live in mutual peace,” he added.
His lawyer said the suspect would respond to the allegations in writing at a later hearing. His partner plans to do the same.
The trial is not the first in Germany against people accused of circumventing sanctions against Russia.
Another trial is currently underway in Stuttgart against a man alleged to have supplied machine tools to Russian arms manufacturers. A court in Cologne also recently imposed a suspended sentence on a car dealer who sold luxury vehicles to Russia despite the sanctions.
