The Czech-Austrian industrial conglomerate Hennlich continues to operate in Russia through a local subsidiary that does business with defense manufacturers — including several that are under EU and U.S. sanctions. A joint investigation by The Insider and the Czech publication Investigace.cz has revealed who owns the corporation’s Russian subsidiary, LLC Hennlich (ООО «Хеннлих»), and how the company supports Russia’s military-industrial complex amid the ongoing full-scale invasion of in Ukraine.
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LLC Hennlich had ties to the defense sector before the full-scale war, having secured over 20 government contracts ... The cooperation continued even after Russia unleashed its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While the company’s European owners received dividends, their firm in Russia supplied imported parts to at least four defense enterprises. According to its 2023 financial report, LLC Hennlich’s clients included:
- Ivanovo Heavy Machine Tool Plant, a major supplier to Russia’s aerospace and defense sectors
- UEC-Saturn, a leading producer of gas turbine engines for Russian aircraft (under sanctions from the EU, U.S., and Japan since 2022)
- Kolomna Plant, a manufacturer of diesel engines for naval vessels and submarines (added to the EU sanctions list in December 2023)
- Kamensk-Uralsky Metallurgical Works, which produces semi-finished products for aviation (under sanctions by the EU and U.S. since 2022 and the U.K. since 2024)
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Evidence of continued exports from the parent company includes the registration of new products in Russia. On Jan. 30, 2025, LLC Hennlich obtained a declaration of conformity for a cooler with an AC motor produced by Hennlich Cooling-Technologies GmbH. This process required submission of extensive documentation to Russia’s accreditation agency. These included: incorporation documents from the manufacturer, test reports, and a contract designating an authorized representative. All of the documents were stamped and verified by both sides. This undermines the Czech-registered Hennlich s.r.o.’s assertion that exports to Russia had indeed ceased.
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These violations put not only the company’s European owners at risk of breaching sanctions — but also their suppliers. The largest foreign trading partner of LLC Hennlich is German firm M & V Export und Logistik GmbH, based in Stuttgart, which delivered it $942,200 worth of goods.
Beyond its Russian subsidiary, Hennlich Group continues to serve Russian clients directly. From March 2022 to December 2024, Kemerovo-based Arvesmining received 12 shipments of goods produced by Hennlich s.r.o., totaling $83,400. The first shipments, worth $32,700, were made directly by the Czech firm before October 2022. Subsequent deliveries came through Turkish firm Importir Trading Logistik, acting on behalf of the Czech manufacturer.
During the war in Ukraine, Hennlich’s beneficiaries are profiting on both sides of the conflict. Pavel Šumera and Hermann Zebisch are also beneficiaries of the Ukrainian firm TOV Hennlich Ukraina. While the firm’s Russian operation has remained steady, Hennlich’s business in Lviv has actually grown significantly, with revenue rising from 62 million hryvnias in 2022 (approx. $1.49 million) to 98 million in 2024 (approx. $2.35 million).
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