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The chaos surrounding Ruag’s botched tank deal continues to escalate. The federal arms company actually wanted to sell 96 Leopard 1 tanks decommissioned in Italy to the German company Rheinmetall, from where they should eventually land in Ukraine. However, the Federal Council vetoed it.
Then the German “Global Logistics Support GmbH” (GLS) suddenly claimed 25 tanks that had already been sold to them in 2019. RUAG has not yet been able to confirm or deny this. At the same time, a former Ruag manager is being targeted by German prosecutors. Ruag and the Defense Department are now trying to shed light on the matter. They announced investigations. The confusion seemed complete.
Italy also raises critical questions
But now the story is enriched with a new chapter. Because now Italy must also be involved. The reason: RUAG never received the necessary Italian approval for the planned sale and export of the 96 main battle tanks. This is the conclusion of the non-governmental organization Opal, which specializes in security policy, after reviewing official Italian government documents, as reported by CH Media newspapers.
But this approval would have been mandatory under Italian law, Opal said. The armaments agency Aid, from which the Ruag had bought the tanks, should have obtained them from the responsible approval authority, Uama. However, there is no trace of such a permit in the annual Uama lists. Opal asked the Italian Parliament for clarification on the matter.
Ruag does not think approval is necessary
As Opal further reports, RUAG was already planning to “sell the Brazilian army” in 2016. But the deal also fell through. And there would be no permission for that.
Ruag itself has not yet received any signals from Italy that the necessary permits are missing, it told CH Media. According to a spokesman, you have not yet applied for a license in Italy, “as the activities were banned by the Federal Council”. However, an Italian export license is not necessary because the Ruag is not registered in Italy.
However, there seems to be no consensus on this point. As in so many others. The chaos around the Ruag is increasing. (dba)
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
