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Austrian intelligence services have uncovered an international network that, according to investigators, was used to circumvent European Union sanctions and supply industrial equipment to Russian defense companies. The main suspect in the case is a 28-year-old Belarusian citizen, the managing director and co-owner of a company registered in Vienna. The Austrian Interior Ministry reported this.
The Belarusian citizen was detained on May 13, 2026, on the orders of the Vienna prosecutor’s office. He is being held in custody pending the investigation. At the same time, law enforcement officers seized CNC machine tools and specialized tools subject to sanctions restrictions, worth about 140,000 euros.
The investigation is being conducted by Austria’s Directorate of State Security and Intelligence. According to its findings, the Vienna-based company was specifically established to purchase and supply industrial equipment to Russia, including CNC machine tools and specialized metalworking tools.
A network of companies in Belarus, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Poland and Lithuania was used to conceal the ultimate recipients of the products.
According to the Austrian authorities, European manufacturers were provided with forged end-user certificates stating that the equipment was allegedly intended for use in third countries. In reality, the recipients of the products were companies linked to the Russian state corporation Rostec.
According to investigators, the equipment supplied was used, among other things, in the production of engines for cruise missiles and combat aircraft, as well as other military equipment.
Austrian intelligence services established that purchases of industrial equipment for Russian military companies had been carried out since at least 2019.
After sanctions against Russia were tightened, supply chains were restructured using third countries, primarily Hong Kong and Turkey.
Since 2022, investigators have established supplies worth more than 3.3 million euros to Russian defense companies. The turnover of the Vienna-based company in Austria exceeded 700,000 euros.
The active phase of the investigation began no later than August last year. On Aug. 20, 2025, on the orders of the Vienna prosecutor’s office, law enforcement officers simultaneously conducted searches at four locations. The operation involved the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, the WEGA special police unit and the Vienna State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism. About 40 data storage devices were seized.
After examining the materials obtained, investigators concluded that the suspects intended to continue their activities. The prosecutor’s office ordered the detention of the main suspect.
“This case shows how significant the efforts of international networks are to circumvent existing sanctions. Austrian state security authorities, together with national and international partners, are working to identify such structures in a timely manner and systematically dismantle them,” said Sylvia Mayer, director of the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence.
The names of the detained Belarusian citizen and other suspects in the investigation were not disclosed in the Austrian Interior Ministry’s statement.