It is being reported that a mutual legal assistance request has been sent by German authorities to Ukraine investigating press reports of German companies alleged to have supplied materials used in the building of the Shahed drones used by Russian in the conflict with Ukraine.
The German company reported to be the target of the information gathering is Goettle Advanced Products GmbH & Co. KG and possible connections to the Russian manufacturer Composite Products LLC.
It is being reported (here and here) that Lithuania’s Financial Crime Investigation Service and the State Security Department, with coordinating assistance from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, are undertaking an investigation into suspected breaches of the EU’s Russian and Belarus sanctions by Lithuanian, Russian and Belarus individuals.
It is alleged that those involved forged documents to obtain funding from the EU Space Agency, and that the money was then used (with other funds) by a company incorporated in Lithuania to obtain and export microchips, semiconductors, navigation systems, and other technical devices to Russia and Belarus.
In total 10 raids were conducted, and 5 individuals and one company are under investigation.
Further to our earlier post, it is now being reported that the Finnish authorities have charged the two remaining defendants (the first having plead guilty) on suspicion of exports to Russia of dual-use drones, laptops, computer processors, smartphones and laser rangefinders in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
The value of the exports is said to have been around €140,000, with the exports said to have taken place between 2022 and 2024.
The website containing published judgments from the Estonian courts has published a number of judgments relating to convictions for sanctions offences.
1. Conviction of Adilov Mubariz on 23 July 2025
Decision: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/kohtulahendid/detailid.html?id=413740161
This individual was convicted of importing a few hundred Russian cigarettes into Estonia in breach of Article 3(i)(1) of EU Regulation 833/2014. This was a second offence.
The man was given a 3-month jail term, suspended for a 12-month probation period, and ordered to pay €798.42.
2. Conviction of Alus Grupp OÜ and Taras Potapov on 18 September 2025
Decision: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/kohtulahendid/detailid.html?id=419399125
Mr Popatov was convicted of aiding and abetting the provision of a service related to a prohibited strategic good, namely resonance testing machines used in the aviation and aerospace industries. These are dual use goods
The company Alus Grupp is a freight forwarder and Mr Popatov was one of its directors.
Another Estonian company and its director purchased the equipment from a supplier in Switzerland and sold them to Russian customers. The invoices showed that the intended ultimate customer was a Russian company. Alus Grupp and its director, being aware of the ultimate customer, on multiple occasions transported the goods to Kazakhstan. On other occasions an intermediary based in the UAE was inserted.
Mr Popatov was convicted. At the time of his conviction he had already served 5 months in jail. Pursuant to an agreement with the prosecution, the remainder of his 5-year sentence was suspended subject to a 5-year probation period. He was also ordered to pay a penalty of €2,215.
The company was also convicted and given a fine of €100,000 with a further €200,000 suspended for a 5-year probation period.
The judgment gives a detailed account of the exporting arrangements. It appears that other prosecutions of the actual exporting parties are ongoing.
3. Conviction of Anna Shmeljova on 14 October 2025
Decision: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/kohtulahendid/detailid.html?id=422536761
Ms Shmeljova was convicted of multiple offences including exporting luxury goods to Russia, namely clothing and hockey skates, and importing cigarettes.
She was ordered to pay €2,215, and given a five-month jail sentence suspended for a one year probation period.
4. Conviction of Marine Technics Baltia OÜ and Daniil Haitin on 5 November 2025
Decision: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/kohtulahendid/detailid.html?id=424933869
Mr Haitin was convicted of four offences and sentenced to 4 years and eleven months in jail. This sentence was suspended for a 5 year probation period. He was ordered to pay €2,215.
The company Marine Technics was convicted of two offences and ordered to pay €160,000, as well as €13,251.65.
The offences related to exports of gas generators, alternators, propulsion systems, thermal cameras and other equipment to Russia, including to military end-users such as Kalashnikov Concern, and the Russian Ministry of Defence.
False end-user certificates were prepared showing purported customers in Turkey.
The offending had taken place between 2017 and 2019.
The judgment notes that the court had prevented the merger or winding up of Marine Technics Baltia OÜ for the duration of the investigation in order to be able to secure a conviction and penalty.
The judgment gives a detailed account of the exporting arrangements.
Further to our earlier post, it is being reported (here, here and here) that in September a court in Frankfurt convicted Alexander S. of exports of sanctioned goods to Russia.
He is reported to have been sentenced to 4 years and 11 months in jail. Both the defence and prosecution have appealed.
The conviction relates to exports of dual use maritime technology to Russia via a procurement network said to be run through the Cypriot company Mostrello.
It is being reported, that after pleading guilty to charges of exporting dual-use goods to Russian in breach of the EU’s sanctions, a 20-year old student has been given a 14-month suspended sentence.
The student exported dual-use drones, laptops, computer processors, smartphones and laser rangefinders valued at nearly €74,000.
Further to our earlier post, two other accomplices were also arrested in May 2024 and have been investigated for exports valued at another €70,000.
As well as pleading guilty the student is said to have co-operated with the investigation. The outcome relating to the other two defendants is not yet known.
As reported by GIR (behind a paywall) a decision by the Swiss Supreme Court has revealed an ongoing investigation by the Swiss Office of the Attorney General into alleged exports of spyware software to various countries in breach of Swiss export control laws.
The investigation relates to Andrea Gambazzi, and the company Thalestris Switzerland.
The judgment itself relates to whether documents seized as part of a raid by the authorities can, or cannot, be used as part of the investigation.
The investigation is reported to have been commenced in June 2024.
Finland’s Customs has issued a press release announcing the an investigation into a company in the Helsinki region that is suspected or arranging exports of goods to Russia via third countries including Lithuania, Bulgaria, Poland, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
The exports are suspected of ranging from 2022 to 2025, and to have included direct sales by the company.
The goods involved are ball bearings and industrial motors with an estimated value of €300,000.
The investigation appears to have been started with the interception of a consignment of prohibited dual-use goods which was being directly exported from Finland to Russia.
After press reporting by The Insider, into the acitivties of Czech companies allegedly exporting to Russia, it has now been reported that the Czech authorities are undertaking investigations into the companies.
The exports of machinery and duel-use goods (valued at more than €10m) are said to have largely gone through a range of third countries such as Estonia, Serbia, Turkey, and Latvia.
Confirmation of the investigations came from Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský and Minister of Industry and Trade Lukáš Vlček.
The companies under investigation are:
It is being reported that as part of a joint investigation by the General Information Commissariat, the Customs Surveillance Directorate of the Tax Agency, and the National Intelligence Centre that a raid was conducted in 10 June in the town of San Vicente del Raspeig in Alicante and three individuals have been arrested.
Following a hearing on Friday two of the arrested were imprisoned pending investigations and the third individual has been released.
It is alleged that an unnamed company exported machinery “mainly used in mass production industries, such as the automotive metallurgical industry, the aerospace industry, or also in the military industry“. It is alleged that the exports to Russia were conducted through third countries, that customs data was falsified, and that the end customer was a designated person under the EU’s sanctions.
The machinery is reported to have been valued at hundreds of thousands of euros.
