UPDATE: 🇷🇴🇷🇺🇧🇾 Russia, not Belarus, was allegedly the real end beneficiary of two high-tech industrial…
Armed Conflict · · Russia
UPDATE: 🇷🇴🇷🇺🇧🇾 Russia, not Belarus, was allegedly the real end beneficiary of two high-tech industrial machines manufactured by Romanian company World Machinery Works SRL, whose vice-president is Alexandru Munteanu, an official affiliated with USR Dâmbovița. New details from the investigation point to an alleged sanctions-evasion operation coordinated directly from Moscow, involving intermediaries across several countries.
According to Romanian media citing judicial sources, the case involves two dual-use machines with both civilian and potential military applications: a GHM2500 gear-cutting machine and a vertical carousel lathe. DIICOT has charged Munteanu, who holds both Romanian and Moldovan citizenship, and Evghenii Poliakov, a Romanian citizen of Russian origin, in connection with the alleged illegal export of the vertical lathe.
Investigators reportedly identified Ilya Yarygin, an export manager at Russia’s Energomash Business Group, as a key decision-maker in the operation. The company is linked to a Russian industrial holding that includes businesses involved in producing rocket engines, launch vehicles and ballistic missiles.
According to the investigation, Poliakov sent Yarygin and Natalia Kandratieva reports over several years, including accounts of business meetings and expenses for international travel. Authorities suspect these communications reveal how the operation was coordinated and how its movements were reported back to Russia.
A key piece of evidence reportedly dates back to November 19, 2024, when Munteanu allegedly sent a letter to Anton Artamonov, deputy director of Belarusian industrial group BelAZ. The letter described plans to supply the Belarusian holding with high-tech machinery manufactured in Târgoviște through intermediary companies in India, including Bharat Fritz Werner, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and Gun Carriage Factory.
According to judicial sources, the stated objective was to avoid risks associated with Western sanctions. The proposed arrangements reportedly included assembling equipment at Indian production facilities to conceal or complicate the identification of its ultimate destination.
The first attempted shipment took place in August 2025, when the GHM2500 gear-cutting machine was sent under a €980,000 contract involving German company Raptech Eberswalde.
Instead of travelling directly to its destination, the machine reportedly followed a circuitous route through Germany, Austria, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Authorities in Kazakhstan eventually blocked the shipment over concerns that it could be forwarded to Belarus.
Investigators reportedly found further evidence in an email sent by Poliakov to India on August 5, 2026, which identified Belarusian company OJSC Kuzlitmash as the machine’s intended final recipient, rather than the Kazakh company Dikom. According to the reports, Yarygin was allegedly connected to the company used as the Kazakh intermediary.
The second shipment allegedly followed a similar plan. Despite Romanian authorities refusing to authorise its export, the vertical carousel lathe was reportedly sent from Romania towards Germany, with Kazakhstan again featuring in the proposed route.
During surveillance, investigators allegedly intercepted messages in which Munteanu reminded Poliakov about a contract with “Ilia” and asked him to provide a previous project template. At the request of Romanian authorities, German customs officials subsequently blocked the vertical lathe.
Another crucial detail concerns the German company involved in the transactions. According to judicial sources, neither machine was actually paid for by the German company, raising further questions about its role as an intermediary in the alleged scheme.
Munteanu and Poliakov have reportedly acknowledged the accusations and remain under judicial supervision.
Source: @GeoInsider
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