An Italian sales manager at a major arms company has been arrested in the United States and has pleaded guilty to illegally exporting ammunition to Russia by using a network of companies to bypass legal restrictions, according to Euronews.
According to the United States Department of Justice, Manfred Gruber purchased ammunition from U.S. suppliers and re-exported it from Italy to Kyrgyzstan, violating Commerce Department licenses that required the ammunition to remain in Italy. Most of the shipments ultimately ended up in Russia.
Authorities say that more than $540,000 (around €461,000) worth of U.S. ammunition was diverted in this manner.
His associate, Sergei Zharnovnikov from Kyrgyzstan, had previously been sentenced to 39 months in prison for sending U.S. weapons and ammunition to Russia.
U.S. officials stated that the operation “helped sustain a bloody war” and emphasized that violations of export controls carry serious legal and national security consequences.
