Between 2022 and 2024, the Belarusian holding company Izovac supplied the Russian military-industrial complex with sanctioned goods: components and equipment for manufacturing optics, worth $200 million.
This information comes from a joint investigation by Schemes, the Belarusian Investigation Centre, C4ADS, 15min.lt and iStories, supported by Cyberpartisans.
At least 30 Russian companies producing ammunition, fire control systems for tanks, aircraft and drones were clients of Izovac and its subsidiary InterNanoTekhnologii.
"The goods purchased from the aforementioned Belarusian companies include lenses for a manufacturer of military optical sights, light filters for a manufacturer of cruise missile homing devices, and glass elements and vacuum equipment for a manufacturer of long-range rifles," note the authors of the investigation.
For instance, between November 2022 and August 2023, Izatek-M, an Izovac group company, sold dual-use goods to the sanctioned Russian firm NM-Tech. These included American chip manufacturing equipment, which is prohibited for export to Russia.
To circumvent Western sanctions, the Belarusian holding started removing the word 'Izovac' from the names of its affiliated foreign companies in April 2022. For example, the Lithuanian firm Izovac Photonics became i-Photonics. However, despite the name change, it may still be associated with the Belarusian holding. In response to a journalist's inquiry, i-Photonics stated that the company is independent and is only linked to Izovac by past activities.
Although Izovac is a private holding company, its close cooperation with the Russian military-industrial complex may indicate the Lukashenko regime's commitment to the Kremlin, NAKO Executive Director Olena Tregub said in a commentary to Schemes.
'Belarus is only formally independent; in fact, it is under Russian occupation and is politically and militarily controlled by Russia. And so, of course, they are a complete satellite state, helping to supply sanctioned goods and allowing its territory to be used to launch Russian weapons at Ukraine,' she said.
According to the World Bank, Izovac held 20% of the global market for vacuum coating equipment for touch screens as of 2020. The holding company collaborated with tech giants Apple, Samsung, LG and Tesla. Its equipment was used to produce up to 50% of screens for iPhones and iPads.
Until 2022, Ukrainian defence companies also collaborated with Izovac, including the LUCH design bureau and the Progress research and production enterprise. However, they ceased cooperation after Russia's full-scale invasion began.
