German customs allow sanctioned coolant delivery to Russia
German customs authorities are permitting the delivery of a specialized cooling liquid for metalworking machines to Russia, although such deliveries are banned by EU sanctions, reports the portal "The Insider." A Hong Kong company registered to Ukrainian citizens will handle the delivery.
According to the portal, the European Union prohibits deliveries of special industrial lubricants to Russia. Data indicates that since the beginning of 2024, from the German city of Lübeck to Russia, over 72 tons of special lubricants have been sent.
The supplier was VIP Resource Limited, based in Hong Kong. However, Lübeck is listed as the place of dispatch. The recipient is Amertend LLC, a company in Yekaterinburg that actively engages in the retail sale of lubricants for machine tools in Russia, according to "The Insider."
The owner of VIP Resource Limited is Maxim Krivoruchenko; the company is registered in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Journalists suggest that it may be a "shell" entity. According to Hong Kong documents, he is a Ukrainian citizen. His real name is Seyedmokhammadkhassan Seyedaliakbar Abtagiabarhui.
Journalists from "The Insider" consulted experts who revealed that this specialized liquid is used in the military-industrial complex. "Without the coolant, the machine will stop. And if you fill it with the wrong liquid, it will stop working permanently," reports theins.ru.
This is another scandal involving German companies. In April, the local TV channel ARD revealed that German companies are aiding Russians in the reconstruction of the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol. This notably includes the companies Knauf and WKB Systems—the primary evidence comprised photos and videos from Mariupol and the enterprises' annual reports. The founder of Knauf, Nikolaus Knauf, was an honorary consul in Russia for over two decades. The main shareholder of WKB Systems is the Russian oligarch Viktor Budarin, who was not under sanctions at the time of the investigative material's publication.
