A Spanish company has supplied Russia with an Austrian radial forging machine. […] Russia’s production of artillery barrels relies entirely on this type of equipment. Howitzer barrels wear out frequently and must be replaced, and the precision required for their manufacture can only be achieved on machines Russia is unable to produce itself.
Forward Technical Trade SL, a Barcelona-based company with a sole shareholder, David Candela Sauri, delivered a used CNC forging machine — manufactured in 1983 by the Austrian firm Gesellschaft für Fertigungstechnik und Maschinenbau (GFM) — to AZK Group LLC in Izhevsk. The machine is valued at approximately $1.3 million and weighs 110 tons, according to documentation.
The deal came to light through court records: Izhevsk-based AZK Group was disputing a customs classification, arguing that the machine was a rotary forging press, while Russian customs officials claimed it was a radial forging press. According to Russia’s company register (EGRUL), AZK Group’s revenue has experienced manifold growth since the start of the full-scale war.
Spanish company Forward Technical Trade SL has no website. The point of origin for the shipment of the CNC forging machine in question is listed as the city of Albacete. The delivery was carried out under the name of a Hong Kong–based company, Scorpion’s Holding Group Limited. In Russia, the shipment was processed by the Nizhny Novgorod customs office.
Austrian manufacturer GFM previously told The Insider that, “We have never had any business relationship or contact with Forward Technical Trade S.L.U. or Scorpion’s Holding Group Limited.”
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Holding people who enabled this accountable won’t fix the core issue, there’s always gonna be someone in the whole EU wanting to make the same thing, even if you cut one of the hydra’s heads. Better to work on improving the mechanisms of detecting the operations between the Russian companies instead