Two dual-use industrial machines built in Targoviste were allegedly routed through Germany, Austria, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan on their way to the Russian military-industrial complex. Romanian prosecutors have now charged the network behind the shipments, exposing a sanctions-evasion operation coordinated directly from Moscow.
The Machines
Two dual-use industrial machines are at the center of the case, both manufactured by World Machinery Works SRL. The first is a GHM2500 gear-cutting machine. The second is a vertical carousel lathe, identified in earlier reporting as a VL40. Both have civilian applications.
Both also have direct military applications. They can produce components for heavy vehicles, missile systems, and launch infrastructure. Prosecutors say hardware and software components were integrated into the equipment, and technical modifications were made specifically to give the machines military-capable characteristics.
The People
DIICOT has charged Alexandru Munteanu and Evghenii Poliakov. Munteanu is vice-president of World Machinery Works and an official affiliated with USR Dambovita. Poliakov is a Romanian citizen of Russian origin. Both hold Romanian citizenship, and Munteanu also holds Moldovan citizenship.
Investigators identified Ilya Yarygin as the key decision-maker in the operation. He is an export manager at Russia's Energomash Business Group. Energomash is linked to a Russian industrial holding that includes businesses involved in producing rocket engines, launch vehicles, and ballistic missiles. Poliakov allegedly sent Yarygin and Natalia Kandratieva reports over several years: business meetings, travel expenses, movement updates. The paper trail shows an operation coordinated directly from Moscow, with Romanian manufacturers reporting back to their Russian handlers.
The Route
The first attempted shipment took place in August 2025. The GHM2500 gear-cutting machine was sent under a 980,000 euro contract involving German company Raptech Eberswalde. The machine did not travel directly to its stated destination. It moved through Germany, Austria, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan.
Authorities in Kazakhstan eventually blocked the shipment, concerned it could be forwarded to Belarus. Investigators found an email sent by Poliakov to India on August 5, 2026, identifying Belarusian company OJSC Kuzlitmash as the machine's intended final recipient. The Kazakh company Dikom was listed as the intermediary, and Yarygin was allegedly connected to that Kazakh intermediary.
The second shipment followed the same approach. Romanian authorities refused to authorize the export of the vertical carousel lathe. The operators shipped it anyway, routing it from Romania toward Germany, with Kazakhstan again featuring in the proposed route. German customs officials blocked the vertical lathe at the request of Romanian authorities.
The India Layer
A letter dated November 19, 2024, was allegedly sent by Munteanu to Anton Artamonov, deputy director of Belarusian industrial group BelAZ. The letter described plans to supply the Targoviste machinery through intermediary companies in India.
The named intermediaries included:
- Bharat Fritz Werner
- Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
- Gun Carriage Factory
The stated objective was to avoid risks associated with Western sanctions. The proposed arrangements included assembling equipment at Indian production facilities, which would conceal or complicate identification of its ultimate destination.
The Permits
Romanian authorities rejected the export authorization applications. The operations continued anyway. Prosecutors say commercial structures involving companies in third countries were used to conceal the final beneficiary and circumvent export controls.
The German company involved in the transactions raises further questions. According to judicial sources, neither machine was actually paid for by Raptech Eberswalde. The German firm appears to have been a pass-through: a name on paper that gives the shipment the appearance of legitimacy.
The Investigation
DIICOT and organized-crime police carried out 12 searches in Bucharest and the counties of Dambovita, Bacau, and Ilfov. Eight suspects are under investigation for violations of Romania's legislation implementing international sanctions. On September 29, prosecutors ordered the continuation of criminal proceedings. Munteanu and Poliakov have reportedly acknowledged the accusations and remain under judicial supervision.
The network was not subtle: rejected permits, a German company that never paid, an Indian assembly scheme designed to obscure the final destination, a Kazakh intermediary tied to a Russian export manager, and at the center of it all, Energomash, a company whose holding produces rocket engines and ballistic missile components.
Romanian prosecutors just mapped the full supply chain. The question now is how many other machines already made it through.