"Double punch". The German company was accused of supplying chips to Russia through Turkey
On February 9, German authorities conducted searches at the premises of three companies as part of an ongoing investigation into a possible violation of EU sanctions against Russia.
This was reported by the German prosecutor's office, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
One of these companies, whose founder is a Turk, is accused of supplying chips to Russia through Turkey.
The raids follow the publication last December of a Reuters investigation into the continued supply of billions of dollars of electronic components to Russia despite Western export restrictions and manufacturer bans.
According to a statement by German authorities, which did not name specific companies or individuals, German authorities also conducted searches at the residences of three suspects. The statement said records, documents and IT equipment were seized. At the same time, the German publication Die Tagesschau reported that one of the companies is Smart Impex from Cologne, and its founder is Turkish citizen Göktürk Agvaz.
“The customs data available to the publication confirms the sale of electronic components to Russia by Smart Impex. It is noteworthy that the co-founder of the Russian recipient company Fast Impex is Yaroslav Z., who is also a shareholder of the German company. Shortly before the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, direct sales to Russia were stopped. But our investigation now shows that the sale of these electronic components through Turkey apparently continued during the war,” Die Tagesschau journalists write.
After February 24, 2022, sales from Germany are not included in the customs data for goods supplied to the Russian company Fast Impex. Instead of the German Smart Impex, AZU International, founded a few weeks after the start of the war in Istanbul, suddenly appears on the list of suppliers. Its co-founder is Göktürk Agvaz, who is also the managing director and shareholder of former German supplier Smart Impex. Last year, the Turkish company sold components to Moscow that were previously supplied from Germany for more than $20 million.
Apparently, the German company is not an isolated case: after the start of the CBO, the volume of exports from Turkey to Russia of “semiconductors and electronic circuits” increased from approximately $300 in 000 to more than $2021 million in 86, the publication notes. .
Two months ago, Reuters news agency contacted Göktürk Agvaz, director and shareholder of the German Smart Impex and co-founder of the Turkish AZU International. Over the phone, he admitted that the company from Cologne sells electronic components to Turkey, and everything else is a trade secret.
In its written response to the German TV show ARD MONITOR, which also published material on the company's activities, Smart Impex said that "the allegations are being examined in detail" but that so far its own checks have shown that the goods it exported to Russia "were not subject to current sanctions."
English version :: Read in English "Double Impact." German company accused of supplying chips to Russia via Turkey