German machines that produce weapons for the Russian Federation: NACP adds SPINNER and DMG MORI to the list of international war sponsors

20.09.2023

The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has added two leading German manufacturers of high-precision machine tools, SPINNER and DMG MORI, to the list of international sponsors of war. Despite the sanctions, Russia continues to maintain and purchase machines produced by these companies. Otherwise, they would not be able to produce weapons and components for weapons. In particular, the website of SPINNER's official distributor in Russia, SPINNER LLC, states that it operates "in the normal course". According to Export Genius, starting from February 24, 2022, to June 31, 2023, almost USD 15 million worth of SPINNER machines and components were imported to Russia. After the outbreak of a large-scale war, the volume of supplies of SPINNER equipment to Russia increased by 500%. Importers include Russian military-industrial complex enterprises that develop and manufacture components for Su (Sukhoi) and MiG (Mikoyan) aircraft. They are already under sanctions by the countries of the sanctions coalition, but this does not prevent them from receiving new German machines. DMG MORI has 16 production plants and 113 sales and service centers in 88 countries. The company's services cover the entire cycle of a machine tool, including training, repair, maintenance, and spare parts. DMG MORI is represented in the Russian market through DMG Mori Rus LLC, which operates a machine tool plant in Ulyanovsk, Ulyanovsk Machine Tool Plant LLC. At the end of February 2022, DMG MORI announced that it would cease all sales and service in Russia, as well as all production at its Ulyanovsk plant. In reality, DMG MORI remains an active participant in the Russian market, which contradicts its official statements. According to the ruling of the Moscow Arbitration Court of 03.07.2023 No. A40-51758/23-62-407, DMG Mori Rus LLC supplied machine tool components in July and August 2022 to the subsidiary of UDK-Saturn, Saturn Instrumental Plant JSC, which produces gas turbine engines for military aviation. While the German people are providing unprecedented defense assistance to Ukraine to protect it from Russian aggression, German companies Spinner and DMG MORI continue to cooperate with Russia, supporting its military potential. As a reminder, the NACP has already added 14 Russian importers of SPINNER machines to the list of candidates for sanctions. The NACP is the body responsible for the compliance system in the private sector. During compliance procedures, counterparties are subject to integrity checks, including socially responsible business conduct in accordance with OECD standards. The list of “International War Sponsors” on the “War and Sanctions” portal is a powerful reputational tool for achieving the integrity of supply chains in the international dimension, the exit of international business from Russia, thus reducing the financial and technological ability of the terrorist country to kill Ukrainians. One of the “leverages'' of the platform is cooperation with the World-Check database, which is used by banks and insurance companies for risk assessment. That is why for global companies, the consequences of being on the list become worse than continuing to do business with the aggressor country.