EMTAN Sues Arms Broker Over Unpaid $1.5 Million Congo Deal
Karmiel-based weapons manufacturer EMTAN sued broker SYN-RG-Ai for 4.5 million NIS over an unpaid Congo arms deal. SYN-RG-Ai alleges defective goods and inflated prices.
Israel sold assault rifles, pistols, and ammunition worth over $1.5 million to arm the Presidential Guard of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2023. However, the African government failed to pay for part of the ammunition, citing defective products and substandard ammunition, some of which was even returned to Israel in a complex logistics operation costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
This emerges from court documents filed as part of a business dispute between EMTAN, a weapons manufacturer from Karmiel controlled by businessman Reuven Zadok, which also purchased the ammunition for the project from IMI Systems plants in Israel, and SYN-RG-Ai, the company that allegedly brokered the deal according to the court filings.
The dispute escalated recently when the Karmiel-based company filed a 4.5 million NIS lawsuit against the intermediary, claiming unpaid debt. According to the Registrar of Companies, SYN-RG-Ai is owned by Maj. Gen. (res.) Roni Noma, former commander of the Central Command (39%); businessman and owner of the logistics and cargo company ICL, Lt. Col. (res.) Avihai Stolero (39%); and Col. (res.) Avraham (Avi) Cohen (22%), who previously served in senior positions in the C4I and Cyber Defense Directorate, and serves as the company's CEO. On its website, SYN-RG-Ai presents itself as a technology company providing information and communication solutions, rather than a firm involved in the trade of weapons and ammunition.
The connection between the companies surrounding the Congo project was formed in 2022, according to the court documents. "Negotiations took place between the parties during which they agreed that SYN-RG-Ai would purchase weapons manufactured by EMTAN as well as various ammunition items manufactured by IMI," EMTAN claimed in the lawsuit filed through attorneys Gabriel Disney and Hilla Nissan.
The weapons manufacturer claims that although it usually requires full advance payment before delivery, it was under the impression that the intermediaries were "high-ranking reserve officers who appeared to be affluent and trustworthy individuals with wealth, assets, and influence upon whom one could rely."
According to EMTAN, "the weapons industry operates on the basis of personal trust, where large transactions are carried out even on the basis of oral agreements while relying on personal promises and 'the word' given by the other party. Making payments on time and in full is a matter of 'holy of holies' that the parties observe religiously without ever dreaming of breaking a promise."
The shipments were dispatched between June and November 2023. They included hundreds of MZ-4 and MZ-15 assault rifles, MZ-10 light machine guns, Ramon pistols, laser designators, telescopic sights, night vision systems, as well as millions of rounds of 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm, and 9 mm ammunition. The invoices stated under the shipping company section: "Presidency of the Democratic Republic of Congo – Palace of the Nation, Kinshasa," noting at the end after detailing the components and prices that "the parts are weapon parts and require licenses and export approval from the Defense Export Controls Agency (DECA) of the Ministry of Defense."
According to email correspondence, although the weapons shipments were supplied, the Congolese government did not pay the full amount, and SYN-RG-Ai requested to return some of the shipments to EMTAN to offset its debt. On December 9, 2024, under the subject "Return of ammunition to Israel as part of the Congo project," SYN-RG-Ai's CEO wrote to EMTAN's CEO: "I request your assistance in returning ammunition to Israel and crediting it due to non-payment by the Congolese government in the project. The ammunition is stored at the Kimbangu base of the Presidential Guard in Congo."
Cohen added in the email that "ICL (Avihai) will handle all logistics in Congo and Israel – packaging and transport on the Congolese side, chartering the plane/air shipment, permits, and approvals in Israel." Cohen asked that the returned ammunition be credited against SYN-RG-Ai's debt to EMTAN, which at the time stood, according to EMTAN, at over $1 million, after SYN-RG-Ai had paid it approximately $490,000.
SYN-RG-Ai responded: "EMTAN is concealing the fact that SYN-RG-Ai has paid the plaintiff up to today about ten million dollars, above and beyond what is due to the plaintiff in light of its conduct. SYN-RG-Ai has strong claims against it and even intends to file a counterclaim for price inflation, supply of defective products, supply of substandard ammunition, and similar failures and breaches of the agreement. The personal lawsuit against shareholders and directors has no legal basis whatsoever and is nothing more than a dishonest attempt to threaten them with damage to their good name in order to pressure them."
"It appears that the claims are an abuse of legal proceedings within the framework of a commercial dispute, out of an attempt to harm one of SYN-RG-Ai's shareholders, after a company owned by him beat EMTAN in the central IDF tender for supplying quality assault rifles to IDF soldiers, worth tens of millions of şekels. EMTAN's lawsuit in court to cancel the tender results and declare it the winner was rejected, and it apparently refuses to accept the loss."
