In March of this year, ESCU advisor Denis Gutyk had the opportunity to speak with journalists from the German TV channel ZDF. The topic was CNC machines and their supply to military factories in Russia. Four months later, journalists Maja Helmer and Sebastian Just published an impressive investigation that not only explained the importance of CNC machines for the Russian military-industrial complex, but also demonstrated how these machines end up in sanctioned factories.
Using video materials from Russian military enterprises, ZDF reporters identified German-Japanese brand DMG MORI CNC machines in the production shop of the Kalashnikov Concern, as well as equipment from the German-American manufacturer Niles-Simmons-Hegenscheidt at the Uraltrak plant, where tank engines are produced.
DMG Mori, the global leader in CNC machines, did not respond to journalists' inquiries. However, Niles-Simmons stated that their equipment was exported to Russia in 2021, not for the needs of arms manufacturers but for civilian purposes and enterprises.
The primary justification cited by both German machine manufacturers and the German Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) is the use of so-called end-user certificates. These are merely pieces of paper on which the Russian importer or a third-country intermediary certifies that they are the final users of the equipment and do not intend to resell or re-export it.
ZDF journalists decided to conduct their own experiment and applied for an export license from BAFA in December 2023. According to their cover story, they wanted to send 10 dual-use items to Moscow, including a drone, batteries, and binoculars. BAFA responded with a form asking whether the goods would be used for military purposes, to which the journalists replied negatively, stating only for civilian purposes. After months of waiting, the permit was granted. This highlights the loopholes in Germany's strict export control mechanism, which allow negligent manufacturers to avoid responsibility and enable intermediary companies to provide Russia with access to critical technologies.
Among such intermediaries investigated by ZDF journalists is the German company Deka Tools GmbH (German: Deka Werkzeuge GmbH), which, over the past three years, has sent CNC machine parts worth $8.5 million to Russia. According to ZDF, the shipments were made by truck through the Finnish-Russian border checkpoint, and the products were imported by the Russian enterprise "DKV Rus," whose director is the same Russian citizen who manages Deka Werkzeuge, located in Bielefeld, Germany. The clients of the Russian "DKV Rus" include numerous sanctioned arms manufacturers, the Tactical Missiles Corporation, which produces missile engines, and the company "Krasny Oktyabr," where western CNC machines are used to build engines for combat helicopters.
In their investigation, ZDF reporters state that an investigation is ongoing in Germany regarding the activities of Deka Werkzeuge and its director. For its part, ESCU communicated with the authorities of the German region about this case more than a year ago. However, neither the journalists nor ESCU experts are aware of any results of this investigation to date.