German arms dealer blocked from selling Swiss weapons

The Mowag Eagle armoured cars ended up in Ukraine via a circuitous route. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Switzerland will no longer approve war materiel exports of a German dealer who sent several Swiss-made armoured vehicles to Ukraine.

An investigation by the Swiss economics ministry found that the former managing director of a German arms dealership was in breach of conditions by sending 11 Mowag Eagle vehicles to Ukraine.

Switzerland has repeatedly refused other countries permission to send Swiss-made weapons, ammunition and military vehicles to Ukraine as it would violate its neutrality.

The sighting of armoured cars in Ukraine, which were manufactured by the Swiss company Mowag, therefore sparked an investigation.

The vehicles were part of a batch of 36 originally sold to Denmark in the 1990s, with 27 then moving to a German company in 2013 with the blessing of the Swiss authorities.

In 2018, the firm’s ex-managing director took possession of the vehicles. The German defence ministry allowed this dealer to re-export some vehicles to Ukraine once their armour plating had been removed.

Despite these modifications, Switzerland ruled on Wednesday that the company was in breach of Swiss regulations.

The Swiss authorities stated that the “exports of war material from Switzerland to the managing director in question…can no longer be approved because there is a high risk of it being passed on to an undesirable end recipient.”