A NATO company investigates a Spanish protection firm for alleged irregularities in contracts | Economy | EUROtoday

The judicial investigation opened nearly a 12 months in the past for alleged corruption across the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has affected one of many Spanish protection firms with which it had contracts, the Granada Munitions Factory (FMG). Various European media and the journalistic platform Follow The Money They declare that the Andalusian firm stays suspended from the bidding course of with the Luxembourg-based company whereas its doable involvement is investigated. Without denying this level, FMG’s guardian firm, the Czech protection group CSG, rejects any irregularity.

“Internal documents obtained (…) reveal that FMG was temporarily excluded from bidding for new contracts in July as part of the corruption investigation,” states the joint investigation of Follow the MoneyBelgian media The night y Knack and the french The Letter. At the time, FMG had at the least three contracts with the NSPA for 122-millimeter projectiles, the knowledge provides, based on which the preliminary four-month suspension has been prolonged indefinitely.

NSPA is the company liable for offering logistics and procurement help to NATO, its allies, companions and different worldwide organizations. Among others, it makes it simpler for allied international locations to collectively purchase weapons and ammunition programs. In 2025 alone, it positioned orders value 10 billion euros, keep in mind The night.

In May of final 12 months, a number of folks linked to this company had been arrested, together with a Belgian citizen in Spain, as a part of a judicial investigation into present and former NSPA workers associated to doable irregularities within the awarding of contracts to protection contractors for the acquisition of army materials for NATO, similar to ammunition and drones. It is suspected, keep in mind now Follow the Money, that protection contractors or intermediaries paid million-dollar bribes to acquire contracts from the company to produce materials to each NATO and its 32 members.

Since the police operation final May, the NSPA has maintained a good seal on its investigations. But in mid-December, he revealed that investigations had uncovered “several cases of alleged fraud and corruption, which are being actively investigated.” In this framework, the company continued, firms from NATO member and non-member international locations have been “temporarily suspended (…) in which preliminary evidence suggests that sanctionable practices have occurred.” The suspension signifies that these firms, whose identify just isn’t revealed by the NSPA, “cannot participate in any new or ongoing tenders” whereas the investigations final. “The companies will have the opportunity to respond to the allegations in due course,” the assertion added.

Following the media consortium’s revelation, a spokesperson for the Czech guardian firm of the Granada firm has rejected irregularities, however has implicitly confirmed that FMG is within the crosshairs of investigations into doable instances of bribery and cash laundering that have an effect on the NSPA.

CSG has carried out a “complete legal audit of FMG’s business with the NSPA agency over the past few years,” firm spokesman Andrej Čírtek stated in an announcement revealed this Tuesday, hours after the journalistic investigation was revealed.

“Based on these results, and to the best of the company’s knowledge and belief, FMG believes that it has not engaged in any irregularities or activities contrary to regulations,” says the spokesperson, based on which the Granada firm “has been actively communicating and cooperating with the NSPA in order to clarify the current situation and has shared the results of its internal audit with the agency.”

The Granada Ammunition Factory, which follows the centuries-old custom of gunpowder manufacturing within the Andalusian metropolis, has belonged to the Czech CSG since 2020. The firm develops and manufactures large-caliber ammunition for tanks and artillery. It additionally manufactures high-performance single-component propellants for medium caliber ammunition and EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) demolition gear, in addition to elements for ammunition and missiles, based on its guardian firm description.

This agency additionally ensures that, regardless of the suspension of the NSPA, the Granada firm “continues to be able to sell directly to NATO member states.” The NSPA has not responded to questions from this newspaper concerning the case.