Indian firm shipped explosives to Russia despite US warnings

The Star

3 days ago

WASHINGTON/KYIV/NEW DELHI: An Indian company shipped US$1.4 million worth of an explosive compound with military uses to Russia in December, according to Indian customs data seen by Reuters, despite US threats to impose sanctions on any entity supporting Russia's Ukraine war effort.
One of the Russian companies listed as receiving the compound, known as HMX or octogen, is the explosives manufacturer Promsintez, which an official at Ukraine's SBU security service said has ties to Moscow's military. The official said that Ukraine launched a drone attack in April against a Promsintez-owned factory.
The other Russian company is a subsidiary of Spanish explosives manufacturer Maxam, which is itself controlled by New York-based private equity firm Rhone Capital.
The US government has identified HMX as "critical for Russia's war effort" and has warned financial institutions against facilitating any sales of the substance to Moscow. According to the Pentagon's Defence Technical Information Centre and related defence research programmes, HMX is widely used in missile and torpedo warheads, rocket motors, exploding projectiles and plastic-bonded explosives for advanced military systems.
The HMX sale to Russian firms has not been previously reported.
Russian defence manufacturers have been working around the clock for the past several years to sustain President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, which intensified with Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor in 2022.
India, which has recently forged closer ties with the United States in an effort to counterbalance China's growing influence, has not abandoned its longstanding military and economic ties with Moscow. India's trade with Russia - especially its purchases of Russian oil - has remained robust, even as Western nations have tried to cripple Russia's war economy with sanctions. US President Donald Trump threatened earlier in July to hit nations with a 100 per cent tariff if they continued purchasing Russian crude.
The US Treasury Department has the authority to sanction those who sell HMX and similar substances to Russia, according to three sanctions lawyers. HMX is known as a "high explosive," meaning it detonates rapidly and is designed for maximum destruction.
Reuters has no indication that the HMX shipments violated Indian government policy. One Indian official with knowledge of the shipments said that the compound has some limited civilian applications, in addition to its better-known military uses.
India's foreign ministry said in a statement: "India has been carrying out exports of dual-use items taking into account its international obligations on non-proliferation, and based on its robust legal and regulatory framework that includes a holistic assessment of relevant criteria on such exports."
The US State Department did not comment on the specific shipments identified by Reuters but said it had repeatedly communicated to India that companies doing military-related business are at risk of sanctions.
"India is a strategic partner with whom we engage in full and frank dialogue, including on India's relationship with Russia," a spokesperson said.
"We have repeatedly made clear to all our partners, including India, that any foreign company or financial institution that does business with Russia's military industrial base are at risk of US sanctions."
The State Department did not respond to a follow-up question regarding the financial stakes held by US and Spanish firms in one of the Russian recipient companies.
Russia's defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
"While India has not typically been among the primary jurisdictions used for circumventing sanctions, we are aware that isolated cases can occur," Ukrainian presidential adviser Vladyslav Vlasiuk told Reuters.
"We can confirm that the Russian company Promsintez has appeared on our radar in the past, including in connection with cooperation involving Indian counterparts," added Vlasiuk, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's top sanctions official.
Reuters identified two HMX shipments sent in December by Indian firm Ideal Detonators Private Limited, both of which were unloaded in St. Petersburg, according to the Indian customs data. An Indian government official with direct knowledge of the shipments confirmed them.
One shipment, worth US$405,200, was purchased by a Russian company called High Technology Initiation Systems, or HTIS, the data showed. The other shipment, worth more than US$1 million was purchased by Promsintez.
Both purchasers are based in Samara Oblast, near the border of Kazakhstan in southern Russia, according to the data. HTIS says on its website it produces explosives for surface and underground mining and engineering projects. It describes itself there as a subsidiary of Madrid-based Maxam, which in turn is majority-controlled by Rhone Capital, a New York-headquartered private equity firm set up by former Goldman Sachs and Lazard bankers.
A source familiar with Maxam's operations said the company is in the process of divesting its Russian subsidiaries and that HTIS operates independently.
Ideal Detonators Private Limited, based in the Indian state of Telangana, did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Promsintez, HTIS and Maxam. Rhone Capital declined to comment.
While several Indian entities were sanctioned during the administration of former US President Joe Biden for supporting Russia's war effort, sanctions were applied sparingly due to geopolitical considerations, according to two US officials who worked on sanctions under Biden.
Under Trump, Russia-related sanctions work has slowed to a trickle, and it is not clear if the United States will take further action against Indian companies doing business with Russia's defense industry.
Washington has long sought closer relations with India to pull the South Asian country away from China. Jason Prince, a partner at Washington-based law firm Akin, said the US government often prefers to communicate its concerns privately to allies and only take punitive actions as a last resort. - Reuters