The Austrian company Diamond Aircraft could supply spare parts and engines for its aircraft to russia via China bypassing sanctions

The Austrian company Diamond Aircraft could supply parts and engines for its aircraft to russia via China bypassing sanctions.
 

"Explosive export deals in Austria: according to russian contracts, engines and even entire aircraft of domestic manufacturers may end up in Moscow via China. Plastic parts for drones and other weapons systems are also believed to be “unknowingly” reaching Putin via Beijing, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries,” the leading Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung said in an article.
 

In particular, the article describes the Diamond Aircraft company from Wiener Neustadt, Lower Austria, which “does good business with its private jets around the world.” At the same time, both the parent company and its subsidiary Austro Engines reportedly maintain close business relations with Chinese companies - “after all, the company is now part of the Chinese auto holding company Wanfeng Auto Holding Group.”
 

"But this is where the problems obviously begin: deliveries will go not to China, but to russia. At least one of the end users, the Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA), is involved in the production of deadly drones used by the Russian army in the war against Ukraine. For example, UZGA supplies the russian Ulyanovsk Civil Aviation Institute with red, white and red (Austrian - ed.) engine parts for Diamond DA40NG aircraft and the E4-A engine from Austro Engine. The total amount of the new contract is approximately 52 million rubles (about 510 thousand euros),” the article says.
 

Citing Ukrainian sources, Kronen Zeitung reports that Austrian aircraft are also used to train fighter pilots. “All of this is happening despite the threat of sanctions and the EU's ban on circumventing them. The Ukrainian authorities are expressing a strong protest, and the State Security and Intelligence Directorate has launched a preliminary investigation,” the article says.
 

The Austrian company Diamond Aircraft denied the allegations. “The aircraft are not subject to export restrictions. Nevertheless, as a result of thorough checks, we sometimes refrain from potential business transactions. We investigate specific suspicions of unauthorized deliveries. In the case of russia, there were also suspicions, but they were clearly refuted," the company said.
 

Along with this, the Kronen Zeitung article also says that the Austrian company FACC, which is also largely owned by the Chinese state defense company Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), could have supplied russia with its plastic products during the invasion of Ukraine. Documents available to the newspaper show that russian companies imported FACC products worth $230,000 in 2023. FACC itself denied the allegations.
 

Source: Kronen Zeitung