Leaked documents obtained by CBC News show that Russian military weapons manufacturers may be targeting Canadian companies to obtain critical drone technology, evading sanctions in the process.
A Russian defense contractor has received orders from two Canadian companies as part of a broader plan to circumvent international sanctions and produce weapons for Ukraine’s war, according to a archive of leaked information provided to CBC News. I was trying to get electronic equipment.
Activist hackers who call themselves Cyber Resistance and have ties to a secret branch of the Ukrainian government stole data from the email accounts of employees of the St. Petersburg-based weapons company Special Technology Center (STC). . Provided weapons for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
The cache includes internal STC documents, corporate emails, contracts worth millions of rubles, and a target list of US, UK, Chinese, Canadian, Swiss, and Swedish electronic equipment needed to manufacture weapons. .
A senior Ukrainian military official with direct knowledge of the hacked material said the hackers provided information from the STC.
“This has great value because we understand that the Russians are still producing high-tech equipment,” he said. CBC News has agreed not to reveal his identity to prevent threats from Russia.
When the invasion began in earnest in 2022, Canada and its allies immediately imposed broad sanctions against the Russian military-industrial complex. Including STCbe completely prohibited. microelectronics export To Russia.
But the cache provides insight into how Russian weapons manufacturers are sourcing these technologies, usually unrelated to the business of war, from unsuspecting Western companies.
The STC did not respond to CBC News’ requests for comment regarding its pursuit of licensed technology in Canada and abroad.
Russian supply list revealed
In a June 2023 email exchange, a hacked STC employee told a colleague that he had a “list of manufacturers” to target and what the employees needed to obtain for what the Ukrainian military believed was for the production of Oran. There was a discussion about a spreadsheet attachment for a particular electronic component. unmanned aircraft.
Considered one of Russia’s most important military assets, the Orlan-10 model manufactured by STC is capable of jamming enemy forces with mobile phones and collecting targeting data and geolocation information for artillery and missile attacks. can.
At the top of the 2023 STC supplier list is Montreal-based technology company EXFO. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office And it says it was a U.S. Department of Defense contractor. The listed component is the EXFO multi-service test module, the Power Blade model. Another Excel file shows a breakdown of the STC procurement plan and notes that the company was seeking two more test equipment from his EXFO.
Russia is on the list of countries prohibited from cooperating with EXFO, a company spokesperson said. But a spokesperson said technology companies have no control over whether their products end up in those countries.
“EXFO is also not aware of potential alternative supply routes through other organizations or countries.”
EXFO also revealed that the Power Blazer model cannot be used as a component inside a drone or vehicle, but did not elaborate on its potential military applications.
Another spreadsheet in the cache focuses on “foreign components” related to drone technology, including resistors, transistors and capacitors manufactured by global giants such as Texas Instruments and Panasonic; Listed is a DC-DC power converter made by the little-known company Aimtec. Electrical parts manufacturer based in Montreal.
And that’s not the only mention of that company that STC appears to be tracking with hacked caches.
A series of emails from 2022 with a sales representative from Moscow-based semiconductor company Compel shows the same STC employee selling 10 Aimtec DC-DC converters using SMT-iLogic, a front company for the weapons manufacturer. It shows that you have purchased a unit.
“Please issue an invoice to SMT-iLogic,” the STC employee told the Compel representative, giving the St. Petersburg delivery address. “10 pieces.”
Further emails from 2023 show Compel promoting other Aimtec products to STC employees, but the employees do not appear to be open to purchasing additional components. Aimtec is also mentioned Separately disclosedsome of its electronic equipment was discovered in Russian equipment by Ukrainian government agencies.
Aimtec said in a statement to CBC News that its products are not intended for military or aerospace applications and that it ensures all purchasers comply with international export standards.
“Aimtech requires all of its distributors to comply with U.S. and Canadian trade compliance regulations,” the company said in a statement, adding that the company strictly complies with all U.S. and Canadian national security export regimes. He added that
Russian companies’ evasion of international bans is a well-known problem.
How STC ends up acquiring Western parts from ignorant companies like EXFO and Aimtec is to disrupt the sale of what on the surface appears to be a peaceful purchase. It involves an opaque supply chain that uses front companies and agents from Russian allies. of high-tech products.
Late last year, two Russian operatives were arrested for using a Brooklyn-based front company to help STC and other Moscow-backed companies obtain electronic equipment for drones. STC is also known for its ties to Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, after helping hack the Democratic National Committee in 2016.
The pro-Ukrainian hackers who stole data from the STC also helped expose a Cuban mercenary network. Supplying new talent to Russia For the war.
“The last part of the information we received is that, unfortunately, Russia is still using different proxies, different proxies possibilities to overcome sanctions from Western countries,” Ukraine said. the military officer said.
Serpen, another name for a senior Ukrainian official, explains how Russian arms companies use proxy companies to circumvent Western sanctions.
Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Jason Kung argued that Ottawa has already imposed tough sanctions on Russia since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, adding that “military and civilian It pointed out that a new ban has been put in place on all microelectronics that fall under the category of “articles and technology for use”.
Kuhn noted that violating Canada’s sanctions is illegal, and both companies say they are in full compliance. There is nothing to suggest that the company’s parts were knowingly provided for the manufacture of his STC products.
Corporate Compliance Needed: Experts
Olena Bilousova, senior research analyst at the Kyiv School of Economics, co-authored: report explained earlier this year that it is not impossible to dismantle the murky international networks that companies like STC depend on to procure electronic equipment for Western components in Russian weapons.
He said the problem begins with Western governments holding companies accountable if one of their distributors ignores sanctions and sells to intermediaries in other countries, which then pass the parts on to Russian weapons manufacturers. That’s what it means.
“We need to hold companies more accountable not only for their conscious supply, but also their unconscious supply.”
Bilousova said that if the government investigated companies found to be doing business with companies known to violate sanctions, those companies would be forced to develop better internal compliance policies. He said he was deaf.
He told CBC News that supply chains have also benefited greatly from China’s support for its ally Russia.
According to Bilousova’s analysis, many parts sent to Russia go through China.
Bilousouva suggested Canada should expand its sanctions list to include third-party companies from other countries that act as intermediaries for Russia.
“Chinese constituent companies should be sanctioned,” she said. “Canada can immediately sanction any company that is already sanctioned by another country.” [allies and] Allies. ”
There is evidence of intermediaries acting on behalf of STC in the global market.
An August 2022 contract between STC and a St. Petersburg-based shipbuilding company, one of the front companies that allegedly buys STC parts abroad, states: “To the Russian Federation. It clearly stated that “foreign parts” were being purchased from “countries that have applied sanctions.” ” recognizes its role in planning.
From the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin and its intelligence services sought everything from microchips to tank engine parts from the sanctioned countries.
President Zelenskiy questions sanctions
This is not the first time Russia has been singled out for sourcing Orlan drone supplies from the West.
In 2023, the Royal Services Institute announced: thorough research This is about the black market network that the STC uses to import Western goods, and that “the STC’s leadership primarily operates a highly It is made up of highly skilled Russian military scientists.”
In January, at the Davos World Economic Forum, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy cast deep doubt on the effectiveness of Western sanctions.
“All Russian missiles have important parts from Western countries,” he said, adding that he was grateful for Western sanctions, but only if countries ensured they were 100% functional. He pointed out that it works.
“Putin loves money more than anything,” Zelenskiy told an audience of world leaders and business elites.
“The more billions he and his oligarchs, friends and accomplices lose, the more likely he is to regret starting this war.”
