The Insider: Beretta Continues Export of Small Arms to Russia, Circumventing Sanctions

The European arms manufacturer Beretta Holding continues to supply firearms to the Russian Federation while circumventing current sanctions.

This is according to an investigation by The Insider, whose reporters uncovered evidence of large-scale imports of European weapons for Russian security forces.

According to the documents released, throughout 2022, Beretta Holding CEO Pietro Gussagli Beretta personally served on the board of directors of the Russian importer, Russian Eagle LLC. Even after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, this company received more than 3,900 European-made firearms.

In total, from March 2022 to February 2024, Russian importers registered at least 15,337 Western weapons. Nearly 40% of this total—6,064 firearms—were manufactured by factories belonging to the Beretta holding company, specifically Benelli Armi, Fabbrica D’Armi Pietro Beretta, Beretta Benelli Iberica, Sako Limited, and Stoeger Silah Sanayi.

Italian Benelli semi-automatic shotguns, imported by the company Russky Orel, have been in use by the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Federal Security Service since 2025. The Russian military and special services use the Benelli M2, M3, and M4 models to defend against Ukrainian FPV drone attacks and to participate in tactical shooting competitions.

In addition to smoothbore weapons, Russian security forces and snipers actively use Sako and Tikka rifles, which are manufactured at a Finnish plant owned by the Beretta Group. These high-precision long-range systems were spotted during the Russian Sniping Cup competition in Sterlitamak, where participants widely used the Tikka T3, Sako S20, and Sako A7 models.

Supplies of European firearms to the Russian market continued into 2026 thanks to Beretta Holding’s existing contractors. In particular, the company “Kolchuga,” owned by the holding’s business partner Mikhail Khubutia, received another shipment of Benelli Argo-E carbines in calibers .308 Win and .30-06 Springfield in March 2026.

The United States responded to these developments by adding the Russian subsidiary Russky Orel to the sanctions lists in June 2024. US law enforcement agencies carried out a series of arrests of intermediaries in Kyrgyzstan and the United States who were supplying weapons and ammunition to Russia through front companies.

In particular, Italian citizen Manfred Gruber appeared in court in Brooklyn and pleaded guilty to smuggling ammunition worth over $540,000 to Russia. His company, Bignami S.p.a., had long collaborated with Russian entities affiliated with Khubutia, providing logistics for goods while circumventing restrictions.

However, regulatory authorities in the European Union and Italy have not yet launched an official investigation into the arms smuggling. The Financial Security Committee of Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance stated in response to journalists’ inquiries that it lacks the authority to monitor compliance with the arms embargo.

The situation was discussed at a meeting of the Security Committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies on February 18, 2026. During the hearings, Beretta executives Franco Gussagli Beretta and Carlo Ferlito denied any large-scale smuggling and claimed that only fifteen hunting rifles had been shipped to Russia. After Deputy Marco Pellegrini cited official data from investigators regarding 6,000 exported rifles and one million rounds of ammunition, Committee Chairman Antonino Minardo urgently declared the hearing closed. The country’s political leadership effectively avoided further investigation into the circumstances of the shipment.

In response to an official inquiry from journalists, representatives of Beretta Holding rejected all allegations and claimed that attempts were being made to undermine the group’s reputation. According to the holding company, Russky Orel LLC had been excluded from the consolidated financial statements, and the recorded certificates of conformity allegedly might pertain to counterfeit goods.