09 November 2024 , 15:39
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An investigation by The Insider has revealed that Promet, a Russian group of companies acting as a contractor for the country’s Ministry of Defense, has simultaneously been fulfilling military orders in Lithuania.
Benefiting from their Polish and Romanian passports, the owners of the business, which manufactures weapon safes and ammunition boxes, have managed to maintain relationships with the military and security services both in Russia and NATO member states — even after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As a supplier, Promet has gained access to sensitive information, including the locations of NATO military units and facilities. For its part, the GRU — Russia’s military intelligence agency — is known to have orchestrated explosions at ammunition depots across Central and Eastern Europe.
This investigation was carried out in partnership with the Siena Investigative Journalism Center (Šarūnas Černiauskas).
A “strategically important” company in the Tula Region
Earlier this year, a number of Russian publications reported on a surprisingly conscientious Ministry of Defense officer — a colonel who turned himself in to police after accepting a bribe. Senior managers of the Promet group of companies were implicated in the scandal.
On the surface, Promet appears to operate a conventional business focused on manufacturing safes and metal furniture. Its founder, Evgeny Petrov, is a scientist and an alumnus of the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys. Unlike his former university acquaintance, sanctioned billionaire Mikhail Fridman, Petrov initially pursued commissioned scientific research and development before transitioning into the safe business, first as a trader and then as a manufacturer.
Promet handles state defense contracts and holds “strategic importance” for the Tula Region — located around a three-hour drive south of Moscow — according to former governor Alexei Dyumin, who previously worked as a personal bodyguard to Vladimir Putin and as a deputy minister of defense. Dyumin admitted to helping the company establish connections at Russia’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) — and even facilitated the opening of an MoD office at its premises. Dyumin, who now serves as a presidential aide and State Council secretary, appears instrumental in Promet’s partnership with the Russian state.
Dyumin and Petrov
Source: NPO Promet
The company is a regular participant in the Ministry of Defense’s “Army” forum, showcasing products such as fire-resistant ammunition boxes and casings for “Grad” rocket launcher projectiles.
Aside from ammunition storage, Promet supplies safes, cabinets, and industrial furniture to the MoD and other security agencies — including the military prosecutor’s office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), and the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN).
Defense contractors for Russia’s MoD, courts, Prosecutor’s Office, Interior Ministry, and FSB
Evgeny Petrov holds a 67.81% stake in NPO Promet (ООО «НПО Промет»), while his junior partner, Konstantin Smirnov, owns 31.18%. Until March 2023, they maintained similar ownership in Spetstechmet (ООО «Спецтехмет») before transferring that company to nominal owners.
Spetstechmet supplied Russia’s National Guard with “ZUBR” armored blocks, which it described as a “system for setting up checkpoints and creating armored walls.” Its former subsidiary, Technoimport, holds a sizable government orders portfolio, valued at 1.2 billion rubles, to provide items including safes and archive cabinets for Russia’s sprawling state defense corporation Rostec, along with the MoD and the country’s courts and security agencies.
Petrov is the sole owner of EuroSafe-Crimea, located in Simferopol. That company provides safes and metal cabinets to the Russian occupation administrations in Crimea and Sevastopol, and also to the military prosecutor’s office of the Black Sea Fleet, the Ministry of Justice in Crimea, the prosecutor’s office in Sevastopol, and Russia’s Federal Protective Service (FSO).
Despite Petrov’s business activities in the occupied territories and his contracts with Russia’s defense sector, he continues doing business with entities the EU. According to customs data obtained by The Insider, NPO Promet exported safes valued at $254,000 to Poland over a three-month period in 2023.
Despite Petrov’s business activities in the occupied territories and his contracts with Russia’s defense sector, he continues doing business with entities the EU.
The recipient, Warsaw-based Promet Safe, is also under Petrov’s control. Petrov holds both Russian and Polish citizenships, while Smirnov has a Romanian passport.
The Bulgarian firm Promet Seif («Промет Сейф») supplies locks and other components for safes to Russia’s NPO Promet. Petrov and Smirnov oversee this enterprise, which operates from an office in Sofia and a factory in Kazanlak, positioning it as a leading producer of safes and office furniture in Eastern Europe.
A large part of this trade moves through Lithuania, where Petrov owns Eurosafe LT and operates a store in Vilnius. What stands out most, however, is their clientele, which includes the Lithuanian military and government.
Promet’s military and government clients in Lithuania
Since 2017, Eurosafe LT has won around 100 public tenders in Lithuania, mainly for safes and document storage equipment for various institutions, including the military. These contracts total nearly 500,000 euros (close to $540,000).
Two days before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lithuania’s Special Operations Battalion signed a 12,000-euro contract with Eurosafe for six classified-information safes, which were delivered to special forces headquarters.
Lithuania’s Military Medical Service is a regular client, with its most recent contract dated April 2024. It previously engaged Eurosafe in 2021 to supply classified document storage units.
Eurosafe’s Lithuanian defense clients include infantry divisions, the air force, and two Ministry of National Defense (MND) agencies — with the Defense Materiel Agency, responsible for weapon and equipment procurement, being of particular note. The agency bought four high-strength safes from Eurosafe in July 2022 — six months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The company also supplies safes to Lithuania’s Government Chancellery and the VAD (Vadovybės apsaugos tarnyba), a government agency in charge of protecting the country’s top officials and foreign delegations. Eurosafe also won tenders for the Prosecutor General’s Office and delivered weapon safes for the Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) — a law enforcement agency operating under Lithuania’s Ministry of the Interior.
A company supplying the Russian military is also selling its products — safes — to Lithuania’s Government Chancellery.
The Russian company’s supply of safes to military units poses a vulnerability given the GRU’s long history of targeting NATO munitions sites across Europe — operations that The Insider has covered extensively.
Reactions
Reacting to The Insider and Siena’s findings, Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas said:
“I will instruct that all related information be gathered. Replacing this equipment will be necessary. If Eurosafe representatives accessed premises during installation, it raises intelligence risks. An independent investigation into how this happened is needed.”
Kasčiūnas also promised immediate steps to evaluate Eurosafe LT’s procurement risks and suggested potential changes to the law in order to allow for stricter checks on company beneficiaries.
Evgeny Petrov initially denied having any involvement as a military contractor in Europe but later admitted to some sales, downplaying their significance.
“We sell safes. I don’t personally deal with security agencies. If our subsidiaries made sales, it’s possible… We even sold in the U.S. and Iraq at one time. If there’s a tender and we’re on the market, we sell,” he explained, claiming to be unaware of any specific sales to military clients. Petrov refused to disclose his primary residence.
The Insider found that Petrov’s European firms have also secured government contracts in other NATO countries, including Estonia and Latvia. While Petrov officially lists Poland as his residence, he frequently travels to Russia, spending about four months there each year since 2022.