British military tech smuggled to Russia via influencer's firm
According to the BBC, British-made military equipment valued at over 2 million dollars (CAD 2.8 million) was sent to Russia via the company of an Instagram influencer. The BBC accessed customs documents identifying the entities involved in the export of this equipment.
The company through which British camera lenses are being exported is registered in Kyrgyzstan. Documentation indicates that it belongs to Valeria Baygaschina, an influencer promoting swimwear, among other things, on Instagram.
The British manufacturer of the equipment exported to Russia, Beck Optronic Solutions, supplied components for Challenger 2 tanks and F35 fighters. When asked about this transaction by the BBC, the company assured that it did not act against the sanctions imposed on Russia and knew nothing about these shipments, adding that the customs documents could have been forged.
A British broadcaster's investigation revealed that there is no evidence to suggest Beck Optronic Solutions knowingly supports the Russian military industry.
The 25-year-old Baygaschina is a Kazakh citizen living in Belarus. Her social media suggests she leads a lavish lifestyle.
Equipment for tanks and missiles
According to Belarusian documents, Baygaschina is the founder and director of Rama Group LLC, which was established in 2023 and is registered in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
An investigation by British journalists revealed that Rama Group delivered two out of six shipments of high-quality optical devices used for missiles, tanks, or fighters to Moscow. Shisan LLC managed the remaining shipments, also registered in Kyrgyzstan. The total value of all exported equipment was 2.1 million dollars (CAD 2.9 million). Rama Group and Shisan LLC are registered in Bishkek at the same address.
Two of the six shipments went to Ural Optical & Mechanical Plant — a company sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury — which produces military equipment used for bombs, among other things.
In a conversation with the BBC, Baygaschina claimed that the information about her involvement in the transactions was false and that the company Rama Group no longer belongs to her. Journalists verified the information and found that in May of this year, the Kyrgyz woman sold her company to her friend Anzhelika Zhurenko, who also denied all allegations, as did the director of Shisan.
An analysis of customs documents conducted by the Washington-based think tank C4ADS revealed that between July and December 2023, Shisan carried out 373 shipments of military equipment through Kyrgyzstan to Russia.
Among these shipments, 288 were marked by customs officials as "high-priority battlefield items."
In the same period, Rama Group completed a total of 1,756 shipments to Russia, of which 1,355 were also marked as "high-priority battlefield items."
Since February 2022, when Russia was sanctioned, exports from the United Kingdom to Kyrgyzstan have increased by 300 per cent, according to trade records. According to experts, some of the exported goods were destined for the Russian market, the BBC reported.
The British broadcaster assessed that this case shows the sanctions system is leaky, and London’s efforts to convince Bishkek to limit trade ties with Russia have not yielded the desired results.
