Bosch suspends Russia business, says parts may have been misused

Robert Bosch is curtailing its operations in Russia amid signs that its parts may have been used for "non-civilian" purposes in violation of its policies, the company said.

Bosch has halted deliveries of truck components to Russian customers pending an investigation into how the parts are being deployed, the Stuttgart-based supplier said in a statement on Friday.

The company is probing the use of its products after Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Sunday that Ukraine had found Bosch parts in Russian military vehicles.

"We take the Ukrainian foreign minister's allegations very seriously and immediately initiated an intensive investigation," the company said, adding that any parts were not supplied directly to the manufacturer of the military vehicles.

Bosch said it anticipates suspending production completely in all its Russian factories. The company employs about 3,500 people in Russia at three locations.

Germany's economy ministry has launched an investigation into whether Bosch violated an export ban on goods that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Friday.

European Union sanctions have restricted exports of dual-use goods since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. More sanctions have been imposed since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Bosch said it had no knowledge that any official investigation had started.

A spokesperson for the economy ministry said it did not comment on individual cases.

Last year, Bosch generated sales of 1.2 billion euros ($1.32 billion) in Russia.

Reuters contributed to this report