Port of Genoa. New and disturbing developments of the seizure of machinery for the manufacture of armaments destined for Ethiopia (Fulvio Beltrami)
On 23 January the Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza of Genoa and the Anti-fraud department of the Customs Office of Genoa 1, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor of Genoa, seized machinery for the manufacture of armament material (shell casings) in the port destined for export to Ethiopia in the absence of the necessary authorisations. A company based in Lecco is involved.
The media were reluctant to mention the name of this company, despite the fact that it was possible to request information from the Genoa Public Prosecutor who ensured maximum transparency in the case. As proof of this inexplicable reticence, the weapons observatory in European and Mediterranean ports: The Weapon Watch, on the same day announced the identity of the infamous company on its website, without finding any response in the national media. This is the company FORZA 3M Srl, with headquarters in via Parini 19 in Lecco, the birthplace of the former president of the Federation of Italian companies for aerospace, defense and security (AIAD) of Confindustria and former Senior Advisor of LeonardoSpa, the current Minister of Defence, Guido Crosetto.
The Weapon Watch reveals particulars and details that make the story even more disturbing. FORZA 3M is not registered in the national register of companies law 185/1990, and therefore could not request the authorization to export as armament material. It was established in March 2021 with a ridiculous share capital (20,000 euros). The address, via Parini 19, Lecco appears to be only a legal address and the 2021 financial statements show an insignificant turnover, around 116,000 euros. The investigations, which had been underway for some time, show that the infamous company was closely linked to another Lecco-based company MINUTERIE 3M Srl, belonging to the same corporate representatives and which has been operating in the small metal parts sector since 1995. In the 2021 financial statements, the latter declared a turnover of 12.7 million euros (doubled compared to 2019) and 61 employees employed in a modern plant in the industrial area of Lecco.
The shell-making machinery is alleged to have been designed to make ammunition for Kalashnikov assault rifles, the most common assault weapon in Ethiopia as well. FORZA 3M tried to disguise the true military nature of the cargo, as it was directed towards an area where a bloody civil war has been raging since November 2020 which is estimated to have caused over 1.5 million deaths including 600,000 civilians in the state of Tigray alone, in northern Ethiopia, on the border with Eritrea, the prison state of the dictator Isaias Afwerki rehabilitated on the international scene by the foreign ministry under the Draghi government. The Ethiopian conflict which also involves Eritrea is one of the most horrendous and bloody wars still in progress. Compared to it, the Ukrainian conflict is child’s play.
According to the Atlas of the Italian defense industry drawn up by Weapon Watch, other companies from Lecco include in the sector of machines for manufacturing light ammunition, a sector that has grown as an “induced” of the well-known company FIOCCHI MUNIZIONI and which has its own capacity exports, even to areas of the world – such as West Africa and the Middle East – to which such exports should not be authorised.
Faced with the detailed news from The Weapon Watch, it is legitimate to wonder why the national media are reluctant to reveal the company’s identity and why they treat the fact as an isolated episode, when an entire industrial sector (that of armaments) in the Lucca area he is suspected of opaque sales in countries in conflict in clear contrast to the Constitution and the law on armaments n. 185 of 1990.
Praising the excellent work of the Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza of Genoa, of the Anti-fraud department of the Customs Office of Genoa 1 and of the Public Prosecutor of Genoa, we hope that the Ministry of Defense and Minister Guido Crosetto will participate personally to the investigations into this attempted smuggling of war materials and that shed light on the network of war apparatus companies in the Lucca area also suspected of being involved in illicit arms export activities. A participation that is a moral, political and legal duty given that it is the Ministry of Defense that authorizes ALL sales of Italian weapons abroad, therefore, as a faithful Institution of the Italian Republic, it cannot allow violations of the laws in force. Strong measures against offenders should be encouraged and supported.
Fulvio Beltrami