On 30 August, German customs officers raided a network of companies suspected of selling precursor chemicals to Russia that could be used to manufacture chemical and biological weapons such as Novichok.
The key German company, Riol Chemie GmbH, made more than 30 shipments of chemicals and laboratory equipment to Russia’s Chimmed Group over the last 3,5 years without export permits, according to documents related to the investigation, OCCRP reported.