Czech coorporation is maintaining Russia’s tank and artillery lines — investigation

European equipment for Russia’s military-industrial complex continues to operate despite sanctions. The Czech industrial group Alta, according to a joint investigation by The Insider and Voxpot, formally announced its withdrawal from the Russian market after the start of the full-scale war.

However, it allegedly continued servicing key enterprises of Russia’s defense-industrial complex.

This includes machine tools and technical maintenance for tank and artillery producers, in particular Uralvagonzavod and the Motovilikha Plants, which play a central role in producing armored vehicles and both barrel and rocket artillery.

Where business ends, and scheme begins

Investigators claim that part of Alta’s assets were transferred through transactions that appear fictitious, as companies that supposedly changed ownership continue to use the same domains, brokers, and suppliers.

Two other legal entities linked to the group reportedly remain under Alta’s direct control, allowing it to maintain influence over operational activity in Russia.

Millions, tax contributions, and no sanction pressure 

In 2024, sales of Russia-based companies linked to Alta, including the Ulyanovsk Plant, AR, and T21, reached around $24 million. 

Despite the company’s statements about exiting the market, these entities continued paying taxes into the Russian state budget, totaling more than $2 million in 2023–2024.

How EU technology continues to support Russia’s war industry

“The company publicly announced its exit from Russia, transferred its branches to its own lawyer, and did not register ownership changes in two other entities," the journalists conclude. 

Partners of Alta, mainly banks that are obliged to verify their clients, are tolerating this “irregularity".

“Despite increasingly aggressive policies and sanctions, Czech equipment continued to be supplied to Russian arms factories,” the investigation says.

Moreover, factories there pay taxes to the Russian state budget, and their employees collect money for drones for Russian soldiers. The Czech Financial Analytical Office has classified these transactions as a possible violation of sanctions, but no specific measures have been taken so far.