German prosecutors and customs investigators have raided the premises of a machine tool manufacturer near Munich. The company is suspected of supplying more than 20 high-precision machines worth approximately €5.5 million to Russia in violation of European Union sanctions. Three company employees have been formally charged. Raids were also carried out in Baden-Württemberg and Bulgaria.
In connection with the investigation, a Spinner machine subject to export restrictions was confiscated in mid-February 2025. Export documents indicated that the machine was supposed to leave Germany in August 2023, traveling through Poland and Belarus on its way to Uzbekistan. Investigators suspect the machine was in fact delivered to a Russian company affiliated with the manufacturer. There is also evidence of additional deliveries through Turkey and China.
The Munich prosecutor’s office cited a detailed report that aired in late April on the TV channel Arte, which traced the export of a Spinner machine to Russia via third countries — allegedly with the use of falsified documents. In the Arte report, one of the company’s three managing directors, Nikolaus Spinner, denied the allegations, claiming the machine had been sold to an Uzbek agricultural equipment manufacturer. However, a manager at the Uzbek company told reporters by phone that no such purchase had taken place.
Spinner’s official website contains a declaration stating that the company complies with sanctions against Russia and Belarus. As of 2025, Spinner has also begun preparing to implement GPS tracking on newly shipped machines.
An analysis by The Insider published in April showed that — more than three years into the full-scale war — imports into Russia of goods with potential military applications have finally begun to show a sharp decline. Spinner Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik was listed among manufacturers whose products continued to find their way into Russia.
