A machine tool company near Strasbourg has been accused of illegal exports to Russia.

Its CEO has been formally charged, and has been placed under judicial supervision.

According to a judicial source cited by AFP, confirming a report by franceinfo, the CEO of Huron-Graffenstaden SAS is accused of exporting such goods to Russia in violation of embargoes imposed by the European Union.

The Parquet national antiterroriste (PNAT) opened a preliminary investigation on October 9, 2025, following a complaint from the head of customs and after a check carried out in April 2024 by the DNRED (France’s customs intelligence and investigations directorate). The investigation was assigned to the national anti-fraud office and the DGSI.

Executives of Huron-Graffenstaden, a French company acquired by the Indian firm Jyoti CNC, are suspected of setting up, starting in 2022, a system of fraudulent exports of machine tools to Russia via India. These machines are classified as dual-use goods, meaning they can serve both civilian and military purposes.

This was allegedly done in deliberate violation of export control laws and EU embargoes, which were strengthened in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

On March 31, four individuals - current or former members of the company, including its CEO - were taken into custody. Several bank accounts totaling nearly €4 million, as well as two properties, were seized.

On April 3, the PNAT opened a formal judicial investigation into charges including organized smuggling and attempted smuggling of dual-use goods, supplying a foreign power with sensitive technologies and data that could harm national interests, violating international economic sanctions, participation in a criminal organization, and organized financial operations involving illicit funds - effectively customs-related money laundering.

The CEO of Huron-Graffenstaden SAS has been charged on all of these counts, according to the same source.

📹 France 3 Grand Est