A German trading company used Turkey and other countries to send dual-use technology to Russia after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, helping conceal Russian end users in a sanctions-evasion network under German investigation, The Insider reported on Monday.
Police in the northern German city of Lübeck detained a businessman identified by Politico as Nikita S., 39, on suspicion of organizing the scheme.
German prosecutors had announced in February that five men had been detained in the case, accusing them of membership in a criminal organization and violations of Germany’s Foreign Trade and Payments Act.
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office said at the time that the group arranged about 16,000 deliveries to Russia worth at least 30 million euros ($35.5 million). The suspected end users included at least 24 Russian defense contractors, according to prosecutors.
The Insider identified the Lübeck company at the center of the case as Global Trade GmbH and said its Russian partner was Kolovrat LLC, a Russian company under US sanctions. German investigators described Kolovrat as a procurement hub for Russian industry, including defense contractors, according to the report.
The report said Global Trade sold goods to Russia directly before the invasion. After the European Union tightened sanctions, investigators believe the company shifted to routes through third countries to hide the Russian buyers.
Turkey was one of those routes, according to The Insider. The report said the network included two other German entities, ER Industriebedarf GmbH and Amtech Solutions, along with the Turkish company MR Global.
MR Global was listed as a cargo recipient in some shipments and acted as a transit point, The Insider reported, citing case materials and customs data. Some goods reached Russia within five to 10 days after leaving the European Union, according to the report.
The shipments included microcontrollers, electronic components, sensors, ball bearings, mechanical parts, oscilloscopes and measuring equipment.
Investigators said many of the goods were dual-use items, meaning they can have civilian uses but can also support weapons production, military systems or defense research.
The report said several shipments were traced to Russian end users linked to defense or nuclear research.
Nikita S. became Global Trade’s managing director in March 2022 and worked directly for Kolovrat, coordinating orders, payments and shipments, according to The Insider.
The outlet said North Data records identify Global Trade’s managing director as Nikita Siegle.
A trade-data profile for İstanbul-based MR Global Group company lists Russia as the company’s top export market and OOO Kolovrat as one of its top buyers. The Trademo database lists 6,590 export shipments by the Turkish company from January 2022 to September 2025.
Turkey, a NATO member and European Union candidate country, has not joined Western sanctions against Russia, though Turkish officials have said the country complies with international restrictions.
The case puts Turkey again in the transit role that Western officials have scrutinized since 2022 as Russian buyers seek parts through companies in third countries.
The European Commission says EU controls on dual-use goods are designed to restrict Russia’s access to drones, semiconductors, advanced electronics, machine tools, machinery parts and other technology used in Russia’s military industrial base.
The US Treasury in October 2024 sanctioned 275 people and entities for helping supply Russia with technology and equipment, including networks in 17 jurisdictions, among them Turkey. Washington said Russia had become more dependent on transnational procurement schemes to obtain parts and machinery for its military industrial base.