What has Alpi Aviation done with China?
Here is the balance sheet, partners and top management of Alpi Aviation, a company in the production of ultralights and military drones at the center of an investigation by the GdF. The offenses are: violation of the law on the handling of weapons materials and violations of the golden power legislation.
Violation of the law on the handling of military goods and possible violations of the so-called “golden power” legislation which protects strategic Italian companies. These are the crimes contested by the Guardia di Finanza of Pordenone against the Italian aeronautical company Alpi Aviation srl which produces military drones, airplanes and spacecraft, the majority of which - the investigations confirmed - was detected, through an offshore company (Mars (HK) information technology co., limited based in Hong Kong), by two major Chinese state-owned companies. The Alpi Aviation company supplies, among other things, the Italian armed forces and is therefore subject to specific controls and supervision. The Gdf denounced 6 managers (3 Italians and 3 Chinese). All the details.
WHAT THE INVESTIGATIONS OF THE FINANCE GUARD HAVE ESTABLISHED
Risk of violation of the golden power legislation for the Friulian company Alpi Aviation. The Yellow Flames have also ascertained the export to China of a military UAV for over a year for the "International Import Fair in Shanghai" (in 2019). The military equipment had been declared to the export customs offices not as a "UAV system" or "drone", but falsely as a "radio-controlled model airplane".
IN MARCH AN INVESTIGATION ON THE VIOLATION OF THE EMBARGO IN IRAN
Last March the company - which, in fact, among other things designs and produces military-type "Unmanned Aerial Vehicle" UAV systems certified for NATO "stanag" standards - has already been the subject of the same Gdf of Pordenone for a alleged international investigation into the embargo against Iran for a sale of military drones to the Islamic Republic. At the time, the company issued a note in which "it excludes having sold 'dual use' products in Iran and will be able to demonstrate that it has always complied with the provisions of the law in its commercial relations".
THE ITALIAN COMPANY IN THE HAND OF TWO CHINESE GOVERNMENT COMPANIES
Successful investigations have ascertained that the company, in 2018, was acquired 75% by a foreign company in Hong Kong, and that it was valued with a value of the shares significantly revalued compared to the nominal one (90 times higher: 3,995,000 euros against 45,000 euros). According to the investigators, the buyer, through complex corporate shareholdings, would be attributable to two important government companies of the People's Republic of China.
VIOLATION OF THE GOLDEN POWER
A corporate takeover perfected so as not to bring out the new shareholder, with delays in administrative communications and failing to inform the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in advance of the purchase of the majority of the company, violating the so-called "Golden Power" which attributes special powers to the Italian authorities on the corporate structures of strategic realities in various sectors. The purchase by the two Chinese government companies through the offshore company would not have had investment purposes but the acquisition of technological and military know-how. The latter obtained a transfer of the production structure to the technological center of Wuxi, a city-laboratory of Chinese artificial intelligence near Shanghai. Transactions not formalized, according to the Gdf, in company deeds and for which authorization had not been requested in advance from the competent Italian ministers.
AND ABUSIVE USE OF THE "LA COMINA" AIRFIELD
Furthermore, again from the investigation that emerged in March, it appears that the company would illegally use the nearby “La Comina” airfield for its aviation activities. “That is an area that belongs for a large part to the military state property (and given to the management of the“ Ariete ”armored brigade) and, for the remaining portion, to the Municipality of Pordenone. Alpi Aviation, in other words, would have operated in an airspace subject to particular limitations, being a runway almost entirely reserved for military flights in Italy and given the nearby presence of the Usaf base in Aviano. And it would have done so thanks to the "shielding" guaranteed by AECP, a non-profit organization from Pordenone, which was also registered as an amateur sports association at Aeroclub Italia - therefore, with a double legal subjectivity - fictitiously operating in civil protection activities "reported Repubblica . WHAT ALPI AVIATION SRL DOES As defined on its website, “since 1999 Alpi Aviation has been a point of reference for those who want to fly in an accessible, quality, safe and pleasant way”. The company based in Pordenone is a leader in the production of aircraft and helicopters, ultralights and general aviation as well as UAVs (remotely piloted aircraft) One of the reference markets of the company, as stated in the 2019 financial report, is that relating to drones for military use in addition to that of ultralights. The company has 25 employees. The main branch is in Croatia and is dedicated to the construction of wooden parts and a first assembly of the aircraft. The company has sold over 1,000 Alpi Aviation aircraft, with thousands of flight hours, in 31 countries.
THE PARTNERS
As can be seen from the company survey, with a share capital of 2,810,000 euros, Alpi Aviation srl is 75% controlled by Mars (HK) information technology co., Limited with headquarters in Hong Kong. 16, %% belongs to Moreno Stinat and the remaining 8.5% to Corrado Rusalen. Chairman of the board is the Chinese Wei Jianhua and the Italians Moreno Stinat and Massimo Tammaro both hold the role of directors. The board includes: Corrado Rusalen, the Chinese Su Bin and Xu Xiaojun and Qi Rong with New Zealand citizenship. THE NUMBERS The production value of Alpi Aviation srl at 31 December 2019 was 5,407,042 (up from 4,975,085 in 2018). The group closed the 2019 financial year as follows: the profit amounted to € 37,815 (down from € 390,531 in 2018). The costs of production amounted to 5,460,542 euros. The company boasts a total of tangible fixed assets worth € 899,745, and a total debt of € 3,169,373.
THE LOCATION OF ALPI AVIATION
As for the fears that were expressed about the acquisition of control of the company by the Mars group, which is based in Hong Kong, Alpi Aviation noted in the note issued in March "that one of the primary objectives for making our country grow is that of being able to attract investments from abroad and that the interest shown in Alpi Aviation has rewarded the skills and technology that our entrepreneurs know how to express ". “Alpi Aviation - concludes the note - is firmly linked to our territory and will continue to favor its development. The fact that the current director of the company is a former commander of the “Frecce Tricolori” constitutes a further guarantee on the reliability and skills of Alpi Aviation ”.
Scource: Star Magazine