The man is well known in Valais, at least in certain circles. He has been a member of a carnival clique for several years that likes to drink and brings together many people in good standing here. A mixture of ‘Carnival clique and service club’, says one.
The clique also includes the former Ruag manager who is apparently also targeted by the Public Prosecution Service in Verden, Germany: Not everything would have gone well in the deal about old Leopard tanks from Italy. In November 2019, two armored gearboxes were allegedly sold “over five stations in the same day with a blatant price increase” through a company in Germany, half of which belonged to the wife of the Wallis Ruag manager. “Blick” reported this based on internal data. The couple from Valais could not be reached by CH Media.
Illegal sale? Now Italy is also asking critical questions
The case with the 100 Leopard 1 from Italy is getting more and more confused. It started in 2016 when the then Ruag Defense took over the tanks from the Italian Agenzia Italiana difesa (Aid) for 4.5 million euros. Including an abundance of spare parts.
96 of the tanks (four reportedly resold to an Italian company) have been parked in the open in Villesse in northern Italy, near the border with Slovenia, since mid-2016.
According to the purchase contract, which was made public by the Ticino television channel RSI, Ruag stated that it would “use the tanks in various international projects”. So she wanted to prove that she wanted to resell them.
Italian sales and export license is missing
Only: Apparently the necessary Italian approval for sale and export was never obtained for the tanks. This is the conclusion of the non-governmental organization OPAL in Brescia IT, specialized in security policy, after reviewing official Italian government documents.
However, according to Italian law, a license for sale and export was mandatory, according to OPAL. The armaments agency Aid 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 is now asking the Italian Parliament for clarification of the matter.
Without approval, the deal would only have been allowed if the tanks had not been used for war. Was that why Ruag zeroed out the intrinsically valuable goods and treated them as scrap?
But of course she wasn’t. The RUAG later provided proof itself when it wanted to sell the tanks to the German Rheinmetall in early 2023 for overhaul and use in the war in Ukraine. The Federal Council stopped the deal, saying it violated Swiss law and neutrality.
By 1995, Italy had modernized a total of 120 Leopard 1 A5s. Among other things, they received new towers that cost about a million each. Of these, 100 went to Ruag in 2016.
The Brazilian delegation is said to have been with Ruag in Thun
According to OPAL, in 2016, at the time of purchase, Ruag planned to sell the tanks “to the Brazilian military, a deal that ultimately fell through.” And for which the permit would be lacking anyway.
In fact, in 2017, Brazilian media also reported on the possible deal. A Brazilian army delegation had traveled on a secret mission to Villesse in northern Italy and to Thun to the Ruag Land Systems and to the Mechanized Brigade 11 in Winterthur, the apparently well-informed platform infodefensa wrote. And: It was about the possible purchase of 120 surplus Italian Leopard 1A5. Ruag offers the tanks for sale, apparently through its branch in Germany.
Later, Ruag is said to have sold some of the 96 remaining tanks: the German company GLS recently claimed 25 of these war machines. She states that she bought them from Ruag in November 2019.
On Wednesday evening, RUAG said in response to inquiries that it had not received any information from Italy that the necessary permits were missing. A spokesman notes that you have not yet applied for a license in Italy, “as the activities were banned by the Federal Council”. Ruag does not need an Italian export license because the company is not registered in Italy.
In any case, there are more and more questions about the suspicious deal. A number of studies are currently underway. For example, the Swiss Federal Audit Office is at work. Ruag itself has launched an external investigation. In Germany, the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Verden is conducting a procedure for corruption, which would also be directed against the Walliser Ruag employee.
It is the presumption of innocence.
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
