Reducing Activities: company scaling back some business operations while continuing others
Stay Scaling Back
Maxam Explosives is one of the largest explosives manufacturers in the world.
Reducing Activities: company scaling back some business operations while continuing others
Stay Scaling BackSpanish prosecutors have launched a probe into the multinational corporation Maxam after an investigation by The Insider revealed that the company’s Russian subsidiaries continued producing explosives after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The complaint requesting the probe was originally filed by anti-war activists from La Asociación de Rusos Libres (Association of Free Russians), and its launch was confirmed in a response from the State Attorney General’s Office that was shared by the activists via Telegram on June 20, 2025. Spain’s public prosecutor has closed a pretrial investigation into MaxamCorp International S.L. that was opened after a report by The Insider exposed the company’s Russian factories, which continue to produce explosives despite Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian antiwar activists living in Spain filed a complaint that prompted the probe in June. Three months later, the prosecutor at Spain’s National Court dropped the investigation, despite the factories not halting their operations.
Still operating in Russia. The Spanish company Maxam, one of the world's largest manufacturers of explosives, continues to manufacture its products in Russia despite EU and US sanctions. In particular, through its division in Uzbekistan, Maxam supplies ammonium nitrate to both Russia and Iran. Revenue significantly (by more than -50%) decreased in 2024 vs 2023. Indian company Ideal Detonators Pvt. Ltd. exported 20 tons of the powerful explosive HMX to Russia in December 2024, despite warnings from the U.S. government. The shipment was intended for Maxam, a Spanish firm controlled by American private equity company Rhone Capital. Documentation confirmed that the cargo was bound for the Russian market, including entities linked to the defense sector. Although Rhone Capital declined to comment, it remains the owner of Maxam, which directly received the HMX shipment.