> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.adriadefense.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Ukraine Arms Probe Traces Funds to Croatian Zubak Family - URL: https://www.adriadefense.com/ukraine-arms-probe-traces-funds-to-croatian-zubak-family/ - Published: 2026-08-21T05:30:32.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-21T05:30:31.000Z - Description: Ukraine's $36.6 million ammunition probe reaches Matias Zubak, son of Croatian arms dealer Zvonko Zubak, and Bosnia's Vitezit explosives plant. - Author: C.P. - Tags: Ukraine, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zvonko Zubak, Matias Zubak, SEE, Industry, Vitezit Ukraine's investigation into a failed $36.6 million procurement of 100,000 mortar rounds has led investigators to Matias Zubak, son of Croatian arms dealer Zvonko Zubak, and a transaction involving Bosnia and Herzegovina's Vitezit explosives plant. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine paid for the ammunition in 2022, but the rounds were never delivered, while investigators are tracing funds that moved through companies in Ukraine, Slovakia and Croatia. Matias Zubak, owner of Zagreb-based WDG Promet, has been named as a suspect in Ukraine and placed on an international wanted list, according to the investigation cited by Antikor. His father, Zvonko Zubak, is a Croatian arms dealer who has been active in the regional weapons business since the 1990s and had previously sought to acquire Vitezit. The case links a Ukrainian wartime ammunition procurement failure with a Croatian defense intermediary and one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's former military explosives producers. ## $36.6 million contract ended without ammunition delivery The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine contracted Lviv Arsenal in October 2022 to procure 100,000 mortar rounds for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The money was transferred in advance, but the ammunition never arrived. The planned procurement relied on an international chain of companies. Funds moved from Lviv Arsenal to Slovak company Sevotech, while part of the money subsequently reached Zagreb-based WDG Promet. WDG Promet is owned by Matias Zubak. The Croatian company was intended to act as a supplier in the procurement chain for the Ukrainian ammunition, according to regional reporting. ## Croatian link leads to Zvonko and Matias Zubak The Croatian connection adds a longer history in the regional arms business to the Ukrainian investigation. Matias Zubak is the son of Zvonko Zubak, a Croatian arms dealer known from the weapons trade of the 1990s. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that Zvonko Zubak had previously appeared as a prospective buyer of Vitezit before the plant was sold to his son's Zagreb-based company. Zvonko Zubak is also associated with one of the most prominent unresolved weapons procurement episodes from Croatia's 1991-1995 war. Croatian media have linked him to the procurement of components for the Russian S-300 air defense system during the 1990s. In the current Ukrainian investigation, however, the person identified as a suspect is Matias Zubak, not Zvonko Zubak. Antikor reported on August 18 that Ukrainian authorities had placed Matias on an international wanted list and suspended the pre-trial investigation concerning him until his whereabouts are established. His status as a suspect does not establish criminal guilt. ## Investigators trace Ukrainian money to Vitezit purchase The financial trail has also brought the investigation to Bosnia and Herzegovina. WDG Promet acquired the most commercially significant part of Vitezit in late 2022 for approximately €5.5 million. The assets included facilities associated with nitroglycerin and plastic explosives production. Investigators are examining evidence that money originating from Ukrainian defense procurement was used to finance the transaction. Czech investigative outlet Seznam Zprávy previously reported that approximately €6 million was transferred to Bosnia for the Vitezit acquisition on Matias Zubak's instructions. The report cited Kamil Bahbouh as saying that the money was sent for the plant purchase. Ukrainian reporting has separately alleged that WDG Promet spent more than €5 million received from Ukraine's Ministry of Defense in connection with mortar ammunition procurement on the Vitezit acquisition. These allegations form part of ongoing investigations and have not established criminal liability. Ukraine has requested international legal assistance from Bosnia and Herzegovina concerning the Vitezit transaction, including information about the asset sale, WDG Promet's involvement and related electronic communications. Bosnia and Herzegovina's State Investigation and Protection Agency has contacted the court in Travnik that handled the bankruptcy proceedings. ## Vitezit sale faces separate scrutiny in Bosnia The Vitezit transaction has generated legal questions independently of the Ukrainian ammunition investigation. The plant in Vitez was once a significant Yugoslav producer of military explosives and rocket propellants. After years of decline, Vitezit entered bankruptcy in 2019\. WDG Promet subsequently entered possession of parts of the complex, but its ownership was not formally registered because authorities determined that the assets included state property subject to restrictions on disposal. Bosnian authorities have separately investigated circumstances surrounding the sale. The overlapping inquiries mean the Vitezit transaction now sits at the intersection of Ukrainian wartime defense procurement, Croatian arms-trading networks and Bosnia and Herzegovina's military-industrial assets. ## Case exposes cross-border procurement risks The Lviv Arsenal case began during a period of acute Ukrainian demand for mortar and artillery ammunition following Russia's full-scale invasion. Ukraine needed to secure large ammunition quantities quickly, often through international intermediaries capable of locating stocks outside established government-to-government procurement channels. The Lviv Arsenal transaction illustrates the financial and oversight risks created when such procurement chains cross several jurisdictions. The regional dimension is particularly relevant for Central and South-Eastern Europe. The money trail described by investigators connects Ukraine with companies and financial transactions in Slovakia and Croatia before reaching a former explosives producer in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The trial concerning the undelivered ammunition has been underway at Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court since September 2025\. Five defendants, including former Ministry of Defense officials and representatives of companies involved in the transaction, face accusations related to the handling of state funds and deny the charges. For investigators, the central questions remain where the Ukrainian procurement money ultimately went, how the Vitezit acquisition was financed and whether criminal responsibility can be established for the failure to deliver ammunition that Ukraine had already paid for. Source: Hromadske ## Who is Zvonko Zubak? Zvonko Zubak is a Croatian arms dealer associated with weapons procurement during the wars of the 1990s. He is the father of Matias Zubak and had previously sought to acquire Bosnia and Herzegovina's Vitezit explosives plant. ### Who is Matias Zubak? Matias Zubak is the son of Zvonko Zubak and owner of Zagreb-based WDG Promet. Ukrainian authorities have identified Matias as a suspect in the investigation connected to the failed ammunition procurement and placed him on an international wanted list, according to reporting on the case. ### How is the Zubak family connected to Vitezit? Zvonko Zubak had previously appeared as a prospective buyer of Vitezit. The plant was eventually sold in late 2022 to WDG Promet, the Zagreb company owned by his son Matias, for approximately €5.5 million. ### Why is Ukraine investigating the Vitezit purchase? Investigators are examining evidence that funds originating from Ukrainian defense procurement moved through European intermediaries and were used in connection with the Vitezit acquisition. Ukraine has requested legal assistance from Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of that investigation.