The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption has added the leading manufacturer of all-terrain vehicles, the Chinese company Shandong Odes Industry Co., Ltd, (Aodes), to the list of international war sponsors. This was reported by the press service of NAPC.
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The basis for the corresponding decision was the purchase by the Russian Ministry of Defense of the company's all-terrain vehicles for the needs of its army. In addition, Shandong Odes continues to actively supply other cars to Russia and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to the aggressor’s budget, the department noted.
The company is headquartered in Shandong, China. The Aodes brand is also registered in the USA and includes a full range of production, service and sales of all-terrain vehicles with research and development teams from the USA, Europe and China.
Shandong Odes has been supplying its products to Russia since 2021. And the official distributor of Aodes in Russia is Merkury-DV LLC. In 2022 alone, she paid more than $797 thousand in taxes to the aggressor’s budget.
The Russian representative office of Aodes consists of more than 60 dealership centers that sell and service ATVs, all-terrain vehicles and golf carts of its own production.
“Aodes continues to be an active participant in import and export transactions with a terrorist state. In particular, during the period from February 24, 2022 to July 31, 2023, goods worth more than $16 million were imported. Among the goods were ATVs, spare parts for their repair and maintenance, and inflatable boats,” noted NAPC.
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In March and April of this year, the company shipped 137 Desertcross cars to Russia for more than $1.5 million. The main buyer was the Russian motorsport company Formula 7/Formula D. And from October 2022 to August 2023, the Chinese Shandong Odes exported spare parts for ATVs and all-terrain vehicles for a total amount of more than $19 million.
In addition, in 2023, the Russian Ministry of Defense purchased Chinese Desertcross 1000-3 all-terrain vehicles for the needs of its army. As of mid-November 2023, the enemy already had 537 Desertcross 1000-3 units at its disposal, and by the end of March 2024, another 1,590 units with “additional options” should be purchased.
These vehicles were received by units special purpose for the delivery of ammunition, other cargo weighing up to 550 kg, as well as sanitary evacuation tasks.
Recently released footage by the Ukrainian military confirms the destruction of two Chinese-made Desertcross 1000-3 all-terrain vehicles near Krynka in the temporarily occupied territory of the Kherson region.
