Polish company under probe for fuel pumps found in Iranian combat drones used in Ukraine
A state-run company in Poland issued a statement saying it is under investigation for selling fuel pumps to Iran, reportedly found in Iranian Shahed 136 combat drones that Russia has used in Ukraine.
The confirmation by WSK Poznan, which belongs to the government-owned Industrial Development Agency, followed a report by Poland’s ZET radio, which said the company is being investigated since July 2022 for the sale of fuel pumps to Iran’s Motorsazan, which bills itself as a diesel-engine manufacturer.
‘These pumps are not technologically adapted to power aircraft engines due to their weight, nor to work with fuel other than diesel oil, and in particular to work with aviation fuel,’ WSK Poznan said, following the 18 July ZET report, which suggested the pumps had been modified for use in Iran’s ‘Kamikaze’ Shahed drones. ‘WSK Poznań Sp. z o. o. did not supply its products to the Iranian arms sector,’ the company stressed.
ZET had reported that in February last year investigators brought charges against the former head of the company, identified as Renata S.
‘Ms. Renata S. was charged with committing a crime under Article 33, section 1 of the Act of November 29, 2000 on foreign trade in goods, technologies and services of strategic importance for state security, as well as for maintaining international peace and security,’ ZET quoted Przemysław Nowak, spokesman for the National Prosecutor’s Office, as saying in its Polish-language report.
Meanwhile, Polish defence minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters that companies must remain extra-vigilant over export of dual-use goods, such as the pumps.
He said the sale of components to a tractor manufacturing company ‘seems like a fairly safe transaction at first glance, but it shows how sensitive one has to be when selling anything to countries that support Russia in its attacks on Ukraine and supply it with military equipment or components of this equipment,’ the national Polish Press Agency (‘PAP’) reported.
In its statement, WSK Poznan said it has bolstered its internal controls to include checking against sanctions regulations.
‘The company has introduced internal control procedures for potential recipients, in particular, each potential contractor is thoroughly checked, the purpose of the ordered goods and then an analysis of the sanctions in force at a given time is made. In the case of export outside the EU market, WSK Poznań Sp. z o. o. requires potential customers to send an end-user declaration,’ the company said.
Iran, Russia’s southern neighbour, has confirmed drone supplies to Moscow, which has used the aerial vehicles with devastating effect to hit Ukrainian air defences and infrastructure far from the front lines.
The EU outlawed military supplies to Russia following Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It imposed three rounds of drone-related sanctions against Iranian individuals or entities in 2022 and 2023, under sanctions related to Ukraine.
