Caterpillar products are still reaching Russia through the German intermediary, Zeppelin International AG.
The Berliner Telegraph has reported that numerous companies in the EU, motivated by profit, are circumventing Brussels and Washington's sanctions by sending restricted goods to Russia and Belarus through Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and the UAE, sometimes using intermediaries based within the EU.
Legally, EU regulations do not prohibit selling products to third countries like Armenia. As a result, a company’s head office may be pleased with the spike in sales from its peripheral branches without fully understanding where the products end up.
However, compliance with the sanctions can sometimes border on the absurd. For example, after the Russian-Ukrainian conflict began, Caterpillar, an American company, voluntarily stopped working with Russian customers on March 10, 2022, and halted all shipments to Russia. A year later, on February 25, 2023, the 10th package of sanctions explicitly banned the delivery of construction equipment to Russia and Belarus.
Despite these measures, Caterpillar products are still finding their way to Russia through indirect routes, sometimes with the involvement of German companies, whether knowingly or not. For instance, Zeppelin International AG, a German company with subsidiaries and official dealers throughout much of the former Soviet Union, is significantly increasing its sales of Caterpillar products in the region.
According to customs records obtained by Berliner Telegraph, LLC Zeppelin International Armenia, a subsidiary of Zeppelin International AG, has been actively supplying special equipment and dual-purpose tracks to Russia. Zeppelin International AG's partner in Kazakhstan, KBK Almaty Holding LLP, is also working closely with its Belarusian partner, Natriks.
Similarly, Zeppelin Tajikistan AFLL in Tajikistan and Zeppelin Central Asia Machinery LLC in Uzbekistan are actively supplying machinery and components to Russia.
It is noteworthy that at least until February 2023, Caterpillar products will continue to arrive in Russia through Finnish ports. The Finnish portal Yle (https://yle.fi/a/74-20070172) also recently conducted an extensive investigation on this topic.