BLUE LANTERN - 05-050045303

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000356 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KOMC LO SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN - 05-050045303 REF: STATE 75544 ¶1. (U) Summary. Poloff visited BW Arms on June 13 with Bilateral Affairs Officer from Office of Defense Cooperation. Poloff found no reason that application 05-050045303 should not be approved. The Slovak Government has confirmed that BW Arms is fully licensed to trade in arms and ammunition. The Slovak Government has no/no reason to believe BW Arms is not in compliance with applicable Slovak law, and Poloff did not/not find any reason to suspect BW Arms has or will violate the terms of a U.S. import license. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) BW Arms, s.r.o. (Comment. s.r.o. is the Slovak abbreviation for a Limited Liability Company. End comment.) was established June 24, 1993. Since February 15, 2002 the sole owner of BW Arms is Miroslav Soltis, who resides at Malleho 13, 909 01 Skalica, Slovak Republic. Until February 14, 2002, BW Arms was co-owned by David Goodwin who then resided at Park Homer Drive, Wimborne, United Kingdom. ¶3. (SBU) BW Arms is a wholesaler of arms and ammunition. They sell exclusively to small retailers in the Slovak Republic and derive the majority of their revenue from sales of ammunition, small caliber rifles and air rifles. BW Arms provided Poloff with photocopies of invoices for the onward sales of all American-made products they have received. According to these documents, all of the American-made products were sold onward to small retailers in the Slovak Republic. ¶4. (SBU) BW Arms stores weapons in a small warehouse that is separate from their main office. Bilateral Affairs Officer (a U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel) said the warehouse is triple-barrier and more than adequate for the caliber of weapons that BW Arms deals in. ¶5. (U) Poloff explained that BW Arms may not re-export USML articles without USG permission. Mr. Soltis seemed to understand this. He said that BW Arms does not sell abroad and has no plans to sell abroad. ¶6. (U) BW Arms provided Poloff with a photocopy of their firearms license and import license. It appears to be valid and up-to-date. Issuance and validity have been independently confirmed by the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic. ¶7. (SBU) BW Arms has received a single shipment from Henry Repeating Arms. The shipment was sent on May 8, 2007 and included: - 10 Henry Lever Action .22 - 2 Henry Lever Magnum .22 - 5 Henry US Survival .22 Black - 3 Henry US Survival .22 Camo - 2 Henry Pump Action Octagon .22LR - 5 Henry Big Boy .357/38Spl - 200 Henry 2007 EXPORT CATALOGS (no value items) Mr. Soltis believed these items were sent on the basis of a 2007 license. Mr. Soltis explained that Henry Repeating Arms had been unable to obtain the necessary export license in 2006 and so BW Arms had not bought any materials from Henry in that year. The items shipped are, however, covered by the December 2006 license and Poloff was not able to determine the license on the basis of which the shipment came through. Mr. Soltis further explained that the items listed in BW Arms license application currently under review represent the total quantity of weapons they may purchase in 2007. Actual purchases will likely be smaller and will depend on demand and cash flow. ¶8. (SBU) Post assesses that BW Arms is a reliable recipient of the materials listed in the application 05-050045303. ¶9. (U) Please note that BW Arms s.r.o.'s proper registered address is Malleho 13, 909 01 Skalica. (The street name is written incorrectly in reftel.) This address is the residence of Mr. Soltis. The business office of BW Arms is at Clementisa 54, 909 01 Skalica, Slovak Republic. ¶10. (U) Poloff will retain copies of all documents related to this case for at least six months. If copies are needed please contact chaseau@state.sgov.gov or by telephone at 421 2 5922 3376. VALLEE