Walloon Minister-President Elio Di Rupo took the decision to preventively suspend the licences currently valid for New Lachaussée to Serbia with immediate effect, his cabinet confirmed on Tuesday.
On 2 July he became aware of the conclusions of a report on a leaked KPMG audit concerning the possible provision of Belgian ammunition manufacturing equipment between the Liège-based company New Lachaussée (NLC) and Russia, with Serbia as a potential intermediary.
Further investigations are being carried out, with Di Rupo's cabinet assuring a thorough effort to look into the elements highlighted in the KPMG audit report.
RTBF was able to consult a report produced a year ago by KPMG-Germany following an investigation into the Herstal-based company, in which Wallonia holds a 20% stake, and its possible links with Russia.
The independent audit began on 18 May 2022 and brought to light a number of problematic elements, reports RTBF. After six weeks, NLC’s German parent company decided to terminate the investigation, while the KPMG-Germany team asked to be allowed to go further.
It was only thanks to a whistleblower that the contents of the cancelled report were made public. According to the source, NLC never terminated its contracts with Russian companies despite the embargo in force since 2014.
Oversight or negligence?
During its investigation KPMG also looked into Serbia, which could serve as a third country, via contracts that NLC signed with Serbian companies linked to the state arms company, Yugoimport, for the installation of two Russian-calibre ammunition production lines.
Contacted by the public broadcaster, NLC assured RTBF that it had “not had any commercial relations with any organisation active in the arms sector established in Russia.” It added that “the products of the various ammunition production lines in Serbia are intended for internal use and for export, in compliance with the international standards that companies established on Serbian territory are obliged to respect.”
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However, according to Di Rupo the export licences granted to NLC require the ammunition to be destined for the Serbian Ministry of Defence, via a state-owned company with a non-re-export commitment signed by Serbian authorities.
In view of this information, the regional minister-president has decided to preventively suspend New Lachaussée’s valid licences to Serbia. Di Rupo met with the Serbian ambassador today to demand explanations about the affair.
