Germany’s foreign intelligence service, the BND, infiltrated the internal network of a Russian company that was remotely operating a Lübeck-based trading firm to funnel European dual-use technology to at least 24 Russian defense contractors and a nuclear weapons research institute.
The case centers on Global Trade, a German company that prosecutors say was converted after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine into a covert procurement arm directed from Moscow by Kolovrat, a U.S.-sanctioned Russian firm also known as Siderius.
Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced the arrests of five suspects on February 2, including Nikita S., a 39-year-old German-Russian dual national who ran Global Trade while simultaneously working for Kolovrat.
According to case files reviewed by Politico and Bild, Kolovrat employees logged into Global Trade’s email system and impersonated German staff to place orders with suppliers across Europe. The network allegedly moved roughly 16,000 shipments worth more than €30 million ($35 million), including microcontrollers, sensors, converters, ball bearings, and oscilloscopes.
Investigators traced some deliveries to the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Automatics (VNIIA), a Rosatom-affiliated facility that designs and produces initiation systems for Russia’s nuclear warheads.
After EU sanctions tightened, the network routed goods through Turkey, with Istanbul-based MR Global acting as a transit point. German front companies helped obscure the final destination. Investigators found the gap between EU export and Russian import was often five to 10 days.
The BND gained access to Kolovrat’s internal orders, invoices, and correspondence, then formally released its findings to prosecutors and the Customs Criminal Investigation Office. Investigators matched European export records with Russian import data to build the criminal case.
Several suspects remain in custody. Five others remain at large. Serious offenses under Germany’s Foreign Trade Act carry sentences of up to 10 years.
