Romanian prosecutors seek house arrest for USR official over illegal equipment export to Belarus

Romanian anti-organized crime prosecutors have filed a request for house arrest for Alexandru Munteanu, a USR local councilor in Târgoviște and vice-president of the party’s Dâmbovița branch, and Evghenii Poliakov, a former associate and ex-commercial director of World Machinery Works SRL. The case concerns the illegal export of two industrial machines that can be used for both civilian production and armaments, which were destined for the Belarusian company KUZLITMASH OAO, part of the BELAZ holding subject to EU and US sanctions.

According to the indictment, the defendants circumvented export bans by employing intermediary firms in India and Kazakhstan, moving the equipment through a route that passed Germany, Austria, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. The first machine, a gear-cutting device, was sold to a German firm before being transferred onward, while the second, a CNC lathe, was seized by German customs before reaching its final destination.

Both men have acknowledged their roles, citing financial pressures on the Romanian plant and a desire to protect roughly 60 employees. Prosecutors argue that house arrest, rather than detention, is appropriate to allow the insolvent company to continue lawful operations and meet payroll obligations.