Grizzly alleges that Pirelli deliberately obscured the profitability of its Russian operations by folding Russia into an incoherent 'Russia and Middle East, Africa and India' reporting segment starting FY 2023, while Russian statutory filings show Russia contributes approximately 10% of Pirelli's net profits. The company's 25.005% minority shareholder in its Russian subsidiary is a research institute fully owned by sanctioned Rostec, which is never named in any Pirelli annual report.

Not Present: Structural / Valuation

The report combines analysis of Pirelli's annual report disclosures against Russian statutory filings, documentary evidence including Russian arbitrage court decisions, cadastral maps, regional government documents, Rostec publications, and UCC-equivalent Russian corporate registry data, alongside original undercover calls to Pirelli's HR, Russian hotline, and the Research Institute that elicited admissions about military hiring, tire orders for Russian military units, and sales of tires exclusively for the Strategic Rocket Forces.

The EU's 20th sanctions package published in April 2026 restricts rubber and vulcanised rubber products used in tire production for Russia's military, directly threatening Pirelli Tyre Russia's supply chain given that over 50% of its imports previously came from Pirelli's factories in Germany and Romania. No single fixed-date event is identified, but escalating sanctions pressure and potential regulatory or public scrutiny of Pirelli's sanctions violations, including a tire center listed on its official website in Russian-occupied Donetsk, constitute identifiable pending catalysts.

Not Present: Thesis-Only, Specific Event

Rostec-Owned Institute Holds 25% Stake, Goes Unnamed

JSC Scientific Research Institute of Rubber and Polymer Products, fully owned by sanctioned Russian state corporation Rostec, holds a 25.005% stake in Pirelli Tyre Russia, whose assets include Pirelli's factories in Kirov and Voronezh. Rostec manages hundreds of enterprises producing more than half of Russia's weapons and military equipment, and was sanctioned by both the EU and the United States in 2022. Grizzly reports that this institute is never named in any Pirelli annual report. The only other minority shareholder, JSC Panaland with 9.995%, uses the Research Institute's domain for its corporate email and shares the same incorporation address, 42 Krasnobogatyrskaya Street, Moscow, per Russian corporate data service Checko and the State Information Resource of Accounting and Financial Reporting.

Panaland Minority Shareholder Tied to Rostec Leadership

Vasilios Ziakas, named in Panaland financial statements as ultimate beneficial owner of the Cyprus entity Panaland Limited (whose 9.995% stake was domesticated into Russian entity Panalend-K in August 2025), is described as a 'Chemesov's [Rostec CEO] man' and was previously tied to Samara's FC Krylia Sovetov. Yuri Makeev, the formal minority participant in the Russian Panaland entity, is identified in Rostec's own materials and the Kirov regional government's readout as an advisor to the deputy general director of Rostec for economics and finance, named in that capacity specifically in the context of the Pirelli Kirov Tyre Plant venture. Per further reporting, Makeev also ran FC Krylia Sovetov. Grizzly alleges that the combined Rostec-linked shareholding, 25.005% direct plus 9.995% through Panaland, means Russia's actual influence over Pirelli's Russian operations exceeds what the disclosed 25% figure implies.

Pirelli's Factory Infrastructure Shared With Military Tire Producer

A 2023 Russian arbitrage court decision shows that the Research Institute's adjacent factory receives thermal energy through pipes running from Pirelli's Kirov plant, making it dependent on Pirelli's infrastructure for tire vulcanization. An official Kirov regional government electricity consumption document lists Pirelli's Kirov factory and the Research Institute's factory together on a single combined line, while every other consumer in the table is listed separately. The Research Institute's own job postings state that workers can enter their workplace through Pirelli's factory entrance. In 2020, the Kirov Tyre Plant's VKontakte group acknowledged the two plants are interdependent 'in some aspects.' Grizzly concludes the adjacent Research Institute plant may not be able to operate as a standalone facility without Pirelli's infrastructure.

Kirov Factory Produced Tires for Nuclear Missile Launchers, Military Vehicles

Under Pirelli's co-ownership, the Kirov factory produced tires for Russian military vehicles including the RS-24 Yars nuclear-warhead launcher, the Tigr armored vehicle, the BTR-82AM, and the BTR-60P, all displayed at a November 2019 Rostec event. When Grizzly's analysts called the Research Institute to inquire about purchasing the VI-178AY tire (shown on a nuclear-warhead launcher), an employee confirmed it is 'in production' and used 'exclusively by the Strategic Rocket Forces,' purchasable only with Russian Ministry of Defense authorization. The same Ministry of Defense authorization process was described for the K115-AM tire used on Tigr military vehicles. Before Russia restricted public disclosure of military procurement in 2018, public records show the Kirov Tire Factory won public tenders organized by the Research Institute and participated in Ministry of Defense procurement. In March 2025, the Kirov Oblast Ministry of Industry published photos from a factory visit appearing to show continued production of tires for Russian military platforms including nuclear warhead launchers.

Undercover Investigation Reveals Active Military Sales and Veteran Hiring

Grizzly's undercover analyst called Pirelli's Kirov HR posing as a Russian soldier fighting in Ukraine with a criminal conviction in Ukraine for the Bucha massacre; HR responded that Pirelli has recently hired veterans of the Russian invasion and that, despite the Ukrainian conviction, standard hiring procedures would apply, then listed required documents and shared current vacancies. A separate undercover call to Pirelli's Russian hotline, posing as a military member seeking to purchase tires for a unit, resulted in the caller being directed to an internal email address to place an order. Grizzly also found that a tire center in Russian-occupied Donetsk is listed on Pirelli's official Russian website; when analysts called the listed number, staff confirmed they serve customers in Donetsk and stated 'here all are participants of the Special Military Operation,' the Kremlin's term for its invasion of Ukraine. Grizzly alleges this constitutes a violation of EU sanctions. Separately, the Belarusian Investigative Center reported that Pirelli sold tires to Belarus in apparent breach of sanctions; Pirelli did not respond to reporters' questions.