Russia has bought $2.1 million worth of equipment from the British company Beck Optronic through two intermediary companies in Kyrgyzstan. This is according to customs documents seen by the BBC.
High-precision lenses and optical technologies from Beck Optronic, which has worked on Challenger 2 tanks and F35 fighter jets, are mainly used in military equipment for targeting and surveillance systems. They require a special licence to be sold and are also banned from export to Russia.
In total, the BBC has identified six batches of products shipped to the Russian companies Sol Group and Ural Optical and Mechanical Plant. These companies are linked to the Russian military and are subject to sanctions.
Two intermediary companies registered at the same address in Kyrgyzstan helped Russia evade sanctions. One of them, Rama Group, was set up by 25-year-old Instagram model Valeria Baigashchina. In a statement to the BBC, she denied all the allegations and said that “nothing like that was supplied”. As the journalists found out, in May 2024 Baigashchyna sold the company to her best friend, Angelina Zhurenko, who owns a lingerie company in Kazakhstan. Zhurenko claims that Rama Group operates “within the framework of the current legislation of Kyrgyzstan and does not violate any prohibitions”. Evgeniy Matveyev, who owns the second company, Shisan LLC, said he did not violate sanctions and “only supplies civilian goods produced in Asian countries”.
Beck Optronic, for its part, said it was unaware of the shipments and had no dealings with Russia or Kyrgyzstan. Moreover, company representatives believe that at least some of the listed equipment may be counterfeit.
Ukrainians are paying with their lives for the gaps in Russia’s sanctions policy, said NAKO Executive Director Olena Tregub in the BBC article. “Without those technologies, those weapons would not fly. The brain of those ballistic missiles, the brain of those kamikaze drones, are made of Western technology,” she said.
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How an Insta-model’s company sent British war technology to Russia
Russia has bought $2.1 million worth of equipment from the British company Beck Optronic through two intermediary companies in Kyrgyzstan. This is according to customs documents seen by the BBC.
High-precision lenses and optical technologies from Beck Optronic, which has worked on Challenger 2 tanks and F35 fighter jets, are mainly used in military equipment for targeting and surveillance systems. They require a special licence to be sold and are also banned from export to Russia.
In total, the BBC has identified six batches of products shipped to the Russian companies Sol Group and Ural Optical and Mechanical Plant. These companies are linked to the Russian military and are subject to sanctions.
Two intermediary companies registered at the same address in Kyrgyzstan helped Russia evade sanctions. One of them, Rama Group, was set up by 25-year-old Instagram model Valeria Baigashchina. In a statement to the BBC, she denied all the allegations and said that “nothing like that was supplied”. As the journalists found out, in May 2024 Baigashchyna sold the company to her best friend, Angelina Zhurenko, who owns a lingerie company in Kazakhstan. Zhurenko claims that Rama Group operates “within the framework of the current legislation of Kyrgyzstan and does not violate any prohibitions”. Evgeniy Matveyev, who owns the second company, Shisan LLC, said he did not violate sanctions and “only supplies civilian goods produced in Asian countries”.
Beck Optronic, for its part, said it was unaware of the shipments and had no dealings with Russia or Kyrgyzstan. Moreover, company representatives believe that at least some of the listed equipment may be counterfeit.
Ukrainians are paying with their lives for the gaps in Russia’s sanctions policy, said NAKO Executive Director Olena Tregub in the BBC article. “Without those technologies, those weapons would not fly. The brain of those ballistic missiles, the brain of those kamikaze drones, are made of Western technology,” she said.
Read the full article here.