The trial of two German-Russian dual citizens who are accused of illegally supplying electronic components for the construction of military drones to Russia began on Friday in the southwest German city of Stuttgart.
In the opening hearing at the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court, a federal prosecutor said that the Orlan-10 drones, which the pair were allegedly indirectly involved in building, were of “utmost importance” to the Russian war effort in Ukraine.
The public prosecutor’s office accuses the main defendant, a 59-year-old man from Saarland, of 54 violations of European Union sanctions against Russia.
The businessman, CEO of two companies, who has been in custody since March last year, is said to have deceived his US suppliers by assuring them that the components, including transmitters, microchips and insulators, worth a total of 875,000 euros ($942,350) , 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 prosecution, the man repackaged the deliveries to conceal the fact that they were subject to Russian sanctions and therefore required an export permit. He did not register the goods with the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control.
The man’s partner, a 53-year-old woman from the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, is accused of supporting him in 14 cases. She allegedly told U.S. suppliers that the components were for her own company and provided false documentation.
According to earlier information from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the businesswoman was also initially arrested, but was 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 take part in this madness,” he explained. “I want countries to live in mutual peace,” he added.
His defense attorney said the defendant would respond to the allegations in writing at a later hearing. His partner intends to do the same.
The trial is not the first in Germany against people accused of evading sanctions against Russia.
Another trial is currently underway in Stuttgart against a man who is said to have supplied machine tools to Russian weapons manufacturers. A regional court in Cologne also recently imposed a suspended sentence on a car dealer who sold luxury vehicles to Russia despite the sanctions.
