German court convicts businessman for delivering drone components to Russia

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) – A court in the southern city of Stuttgart sentenced a former businessman to six years and nine months in prison for supplying drone components to Russia, German media reports said Wednesday.

The Stuttgart Higher Regional Court ruled that the drone parts could also be used militarily.

The man's co-accused received a 21-month suspended sentence for aiding and abetting, according to the German Press Agency (dpa).

Both defendants are citizens of Germany and Russia, according to the court, which issued the verdict after accepting the federal government prosecutor's arguments.

The court said the accused duo's customer in Russia manufactures military materials and accessories. This is said to have included the “Orlan 10” drone used by the Russian armed forces in Ukraine.

According to the court ruling, the electrical components supplied are common parts of this type of drone and are subject to the European Union's embargo on Russia.

The court stated that the delivered parts, which included converters, amplifiers, and transistors, were purchased in Germany, among other places. The incorrect recipients were then specified, it added.

The aim was to create the impression that the components remained in Germany. But the items were delivered, among other things, to a company in St. Petersburg.

After the Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022, the EU tightened its sanctions again and the accused adapted their business model and then delivered the components to Russia via Türkiye, China or the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the court.

In his verdict, the judge stated that the defendant tried hard to avoid sanctions. The court determined that the man had violated foreign trade law in dozens of commercial cases.

Based on the information, the illegally delivered components were worth around €875,000 (approximately $957,190).