Russian-born restaurateurs sent dozens of batches of banned chemicals from Barcelona to Russia that could be used for weapons

The Oleynikovs, a family of restaurateurs based in Barcelona, shipped at least 36 batches of restricted chemicals to Russia between 2022 and 2024, a joint investigation by the independent Russian outlet Important Stories, the Belarusian Investigative Center (BIC), the Ukrainian outlet Slidstvo.Info, the OCCRP, and the open source intelligence (OSINT) group All Eyes On Wagner has found.

Among the substances was NMP, or N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, a solvent that can be used to produce batteries, agrochemicals, and paints, but is also a critical component of Kevlar and chemical agents. The European Union banned exports of NMP to Russia in spring 2022.

In October 2024, Spanish police seized 13 tons of chemicals in the port of Barcelona that were bound for Russia, reporting four arrests without naming the suspects. The investigation was able to identify nine people under investigation, including the alleged organizer, Maria Oleynikova, a Spanish citizen originally from Russia.

Oleynikova and her children, Vyacheslav and Irina, run the Cavina wine restaurant in Barcelona. Until August 2025, Oleynikova also owned a company managing nearly 20 Cavina-brand gastropubs and wine bars located in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Vyacheslav and Irina also run the company Complexe Sancu, which exports Spanish wines to Russia.

In Russia, Oleynikova owns Katrosa Reaktiv («Катроса Реактив»), which investigators say imported 15 types of restricted chemicals from 2022 to 2024. Journalists said the full list may be longer, as customs codes sometimes cover both sanctioned and legal substances.

Katrosa’s clients included Russian defense-linked entities: GosNIIOKhT, the institute that developed the Novichok nerve agent; the Defense Ministry’s 18th Central Research Institute, which works for Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU; and Radar MMS, which produces missile guidance systems.

Investigators said the group used front companies registered in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan to skirt export bans. Shipments were handled by Belarusian carrier VLATE Logistic («ВЛАТЕ Логистик»), sanctioned by the EU in December 2024. The company also moved Dutch flowers, German beer, Austrian modified starch, and banned trucks and loaders from France, the Netherlands and Sweden to Russia, according to the BIC. Vlate is linked to a trio of businessmen — Alexander Zaitsev, Alexey Oleksin, and Nikolai Voroby — who are known to be financial backers of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

All nine suspects arrested in October 2024 have been released. None have yet been charged. Oleynikova declined to comment, citing Spanish law. Others named in the investigation did not respond to the reporters’ questions.