Finnish Firm Launches Probe After Its Equipment Was Reportedly Sold to Russia
Kemppi, a Finland-based welding equipment manufacturer, has launched an internal investigation after millions of dollars’ worth of the company’s products were reportedly sold to Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
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The company has had “no business operations in Russia” since it withdrew from the country’s market in 2022, Kemppi told the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, a nonprofit advocacy group. “If any new Kemppi welding machines have entered Russia since the start of the war, this has occurred entirely without the company’s approval or involvement.”
Kemppi’s statement came after a report last month by Trap Aggressor, a media project of the StateWatch think tank, which advocates for sanctions against Russia. It said nearly $8 million worth of the Finnish company’s equipment has been sold to Russia since 2022 -- including to Russian military vehicle producer JSC Asteis -- which may have violated sanctions. JSC Asteis is sanctioned by the EU and the U.S.
After hearing about the report, Kemppi said it “immediately launched an internal investigation” and has “identified that some distributors in Russia, with whom we cooperated before closing our business, have been involved in the deliveries now under scrutiny.” Kemppi said it hasn’t been “official partners” of those businesses since it withdrew from the Russian market. “We are pursuing legal action to prevent this activity,” the company said.
“We have confirmed that all our official partners, who have signed the Partner Code of Conduct, have ceased deliveries to Russia since signing,” it said. “We have been in direct contact with them as we work to determine possible routes or sales chains through which our products may have reached Russia. This investigation is still in progress.”
The company also said it has begun to revise its delivery terms in countries that have been linked to shipments diverted to Russia, and it plans to “handle transportation directly to ensure full visibility of the products’ final destination.” It has also hired “external experts” and law firms to help with its investigation.
“We will continue working closely with stakeholders to provide full transparency on how the matter is being investigated and how we are ensuring that our products do not reach the Russian market,” it said. “Kemppi remains fully committed to complying with global and EU sanctions, and to operating with transparency and responsibility in all aspects of our business.”