Bypassing sanctions, Belarus sells Western Microchips for Fighter Jets and Missiles to Russia

The investigation was prepared with the support of CyberPartisans.

Death-defying supplies 

Between September 2022 and June 2024, Belarusian companies sold over $125 million worth of microchips to Russian entities. Nearly $400,000 involved Western-made microchips banned from export to Russia and Belarus following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

But Belarusian companies purchased microcircuits made in the USA and EU countries and resold them to Russian companies. A BIC investigation found nearly 10,000 Western-made microchips have been diverted from Belarus to Russia over the 22-month period. Among those buying and selling them are companies that have been cooperating with Russian defense enterprises for years and have previously been caught exporting prohibited goods. 

According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in April 24 alone the Russian military dropped over 3,000 precision-guided aerial bombs on Ukraine. For their launch and navigation, Moscow uses, among other things, Western-made microchips, including those from the American company Intel. BIC's investigation revealed these Intel chips have been supplied to Russia by Belarus. 

Russian forces can use Intel microchips as parts for Su-35S and Su-34 fighter jets, Korsar drones, and Kalibr cruise missiles, according to findings from both Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) and the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKО). BIC has received expert confirmation.

A High Customs Official at the Helm

One Belarus supplier, ООО Alexsvit Ltd (a limited liability company under the laws of the Belarus), sent over 131 microchips of American, Finnish, or German origin to Russia between September 2022 and June 2023. Alexsvit Ltd supplies other sanctioned products to Russia as well, including tires. We covered this in a previous investigation. Since the invasion, its revenue tripled, exceeding 740 million Belarusian rubles (approximately $247 million) in 2023.

Since June 2021, the owner of Alexsvit Ltd. has been Sergei Borisyuk, a former deputy chairman of the Belarusian State Customs Committee, who also served on its expert council at the Customs Committee, where he previously worked, and led the Belarusian Association of Customs Representatives. [*] [*]

Alexsvit Ltd operates in logistics, offering services such as cargo transportation from Europe to Belarus and Russia via Turkey, customs clearance of auto parts from Europe and the US for resale in Russia, and the sale of fresh-cut flowers, plants, and seedlings, including those from the EU. A previous BIC investigation linked the company to Viktar Sheiman, a long-time Lukashenko close associate who headed the Presidential Affairs Department before resigning in 2021. Sheiman has still been involved in government affairs with the status of Lukashenko’s special representative.

Our investigations revealed that Sheiman's networks had been implicated in circumventing sanctions, including exporting vehicles and tires to Russia.

A BIC journalist contacted Alexsvit Ltd. He introduced himself as a representative of a company looking to order microchips in Europe for delivery to Russia and inquired whether Alexsvit could assist with this. After clarifying that the "customer" wanted to transport a batch of up to a thousand microchips divided into several shipments, a representative of Alexsvit Ltd. noted that the company only handles large volumes: "It's either a truckload or a container, while you are asking for microchips that would fit in a small box." However, she assured that the "customer's" phone number is recorded and promised that a manager would get in touch.

BIC contacted Borisyuk and Alexsvit Ltd. regarding the supply of sanctioned goods to Russia and the company's relationship with Sheiman. At the time of publication, the editors had not received a response.

‘East’-ward Bound 

Another company involved in the supply of sanctioned microchips is ООО Logisticheskaya Kompaniya Vostok (a limited liability company under the laws of Belarus), linked to an individual within Lukashenko's inner circle. From December 2022 to March 2023, it sold more than 1,500 US-made microchips to Russia, according to BIC. In total, the company exported over 215,000 microchips to Russia during this period, worth nearly $800,000.

ООО Logisticheskaya Kompaniya Vostok is owned by Aliaksei Matveyeu. [*] [*] At least from 2017 to 2019, he worked for the Belarusian Tennis Federation. [*] Back then, it was headed by businessman Sergei Teterin. He is under EU sanctions as a person from Aleksandr Lukashenko's inner circle. Teterin was Lukashenko's tennis coach in the 1990s, later became first deputy minister of sports and tourism, and then Lukashenko's assistant in the same matters. Together, Teterin and Lukashenko chop firewood, mow lawns, and cheer on Belarusian athletes at international competitions.

In one of the previous BIC investigations revealed Teterin's involvement in importing goods, bypassing sanctions, and reselling them at inflated prices.  For example, companies linked to him import Ritter Sport chocolate to Belarus.

Further investigation has revealed two additional connections between the owner of Logisticheskaya Kompaniya Vostok and Lukashenko's former coach. Tatsiana Matveyeva, a business associate of Teterin, is the sister of Aliaksei Matveyeu. Additionally, OOO Tas Global, which Aliaksei Matveyeu led in 2017, has been under the ownership of Sergei Teterin since the end of the same year. [*] [*]

The swap of seller and buyer

We learned that Logisticheskaya Kompaniya Vostok does not deal with logistics, but can help with customs clearance of documents. This is what the company's employees told a BIC correspondent during a telephone conversation.

"The process is simple. You put us in touch with the entity to contract for the purchase — an import contract. Supporting documents are prepared with our assistance. We review the pricing to make sure it is acceptable. Then we take care of customs clearance and sell the goods to your buyer — or, more precisely, to you. Either here, on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, or there, on the territory of the Russian Federation. Everything is done on the basis of sales contracts," a company representative explained to a journalist posing as a potential customer.

According to the representative, when purchasing goods in Europe, Logisticheskaya Kompaniya Vostok is listed as the buyer in the documents. After the order is delivered to Belarus, the company becomes the seller, and the real client is listed as the buyer in the documents.

The BIC reached out to OOO Logisticheskaya Kompaniya Vostok for comment on its shipment of banned products to Russia and its ties to Sergei Teterin. No response had been received at the time of publication.

Serial Exporters of Sanctioned Goods

BIC's investigation also uncovered companies linked to other individuals close to Lukashenko within the sanctioned microchip supply chains. One company is ООО OFS-Export (a limited liability company under the laws of Belarus), which sold over 1,200 chips to Russia between October 2022 and February 2024. This company is linked to Alexander Shackutin, owner of Amkodor holding. The EU and the US have imposed sanctions on the businessman, identifying him as Lukashenko's "moneybag." In 2023, a BIC investigation revealed Shackutin's involvement in selling equipment with sanctioned components in Belarus and Russia. 

Another supplier, OOO Torgovyi Dom Eksporttorg (a limited liability company under the laws of the Belarus), is linked to Alexander Zaytsev, a former aide to the president’s eldest son, Viktor Lukashenko, according to EU sanctions documentation. Zaytsev was sanctioned as a person close to the Belarusian ruling family.

Zaytsev owned OOO Torgovyi Dom Eksporttorg from November 2020 to the end of May 2021. After that, its ownership was transferred to Yauheni Krakhotsin, who previously worked at OOO Stishho (a limited liability company under the laws of the Belarus), a company owned by Zaytsev from January 2013 to the end of May 2020. [*] [*] [*] [*] [*] BIC estimates that OOO Torgovyi Dom Eksporttorg shipped at least 825 U.S. or EU microchips to Russia after sanctions were imposed and through April 2024.

OOO Torgovyi Dom Eksporttorg is also known for exporting tires, German motor oil, and Apple products, according to previous BIC investigations. It also received certificates for the import of meat from Spain.

BIC contacted OFS-Export and OOO Torgovyi Dom Eksporttorg regarding their ties to individuals close to Lukashenko and the supply of sanctioned goods to Russia. At the time of publication, no response had been received.

Links in Defense Industry Chain

Among the Russian buyers of microchips that can be used in fighter jets, drones, and missiles is OOO  Baltelektron (a limited liability company under the laws of the Russian Federation). This company is under US sanctions as a supplier of dual-use microelectronics and other technologies to the Russian defense industry.

The company calls itself "the first link in the chain of importing radio-electronic components" to Russia. "We have direct contracts with the most popular suppliers from the United States, China, and Europe, which allows us to delight our customers with unbeatable prices, terms, and the exciting possibility of supplying some RECs [radio-electronic components] in principle," the company's website proclaims.

In 2022-2023, Baltelektron purchased microchips from three Belarusian companies: OOO Chip Express, OOO Chipimport, and OOO Elektrosale. These three companies are related. At different times, their directors and owners were the same people: Belarusian nationals Dzmitry Savashynski, Viktar Tsybulka, Mikhail Rekhmunau, Yauhen Kryvalapau, and Uladzimir Kalanskou.

BIC requested comments from OOO Baltelektron and OOO Elektrosale. The editorial team asked the Russian company to provide details on the purpose of the microchips it purchases in Belarus, and the Belarusian companies to explain where they source sanctioned goods that are subsequently sold to Russia. No response was received at the time of publication.

Support for Threats from the Sky

Another Belarusian company that supplied Russia with microchips that can be used in fighter jets and drones was ООО SD Electro. According to both the Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate and the Independent Anti-Corruption Committee, the microchips are components in Su-34 and Su-30SM military aircraft and the ‘Orion’ drone. The buyer was the Russian company LLC Green-Chip.

Clients of Green-Chip collaborate with Russian authorities and the military-industrial complex, according to a source in the Russian tax service. 

For example, one Green-Chip buyer is the Ukraine-sanctioned AO "NAUCHNO-PROMYSHLENNAYA KOMPANIYA "VYSOKIYE TECHNOLOGII I STRATEGICHESKIYE SISTEMY" (AO "NPK "VT I SS").  Through a chain of companies, NPK "VT I SS" belongs to PAO AFK Sistema, an entity of the Russian billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenko’s family. Ukrainian media called him the "king of the Russian defense industry". NPK "VT I SS" is engaged in developing systems for government agencies, law enforcement agencies, and enterprises. 

Other Green-Chip customers include NPO Almaz, part of the AO "KONTSERN VKO "ALMAZ - ANTEI", and AO "ANGSTREM-TELEKOM". The latter's products are used in projects of GK Rosatom, PAO Gazprom, PAO Rostelecom, PAO Rosseti and other organizations.

Uniformed agencies are among the customers of another Green-Chip client - OOO KB Pulsar-Telekom. The company also provides technical solutions for the Moscow Metro and Russian Railways. In July 2024, The Insider listed Pulsar-Telekom among the companies helping Russian Railways circumvent sanctions.

Supply Channels

Green-Chip also confirmed to BIC the possibility of supplying microchips from the US and Europe. In a telephone conversation with our reporter, who introduced himself as a potential buyer, the company employee said that goods from the USA, Germany, Malaysia, and Taiwan were available for order. The journalist was called back from a Belarusian phone number later on. The caller introduced himself as Dzianis, who was calling in response to an inquiry left at Green-Chip. 

According to him, "this type of product" is available to order. If it is in stock, it will take 6-10 weeks to deliver, but if custom components need to be made, the production will take 12-15 weeks, and an additional two to three weeks for delivery.

"There is a company in Europe that consolidates the European warehouse, and then the goods come here. So there are two routes - either through Europe or through Asia, depending on the type of microchip," the caller concluded.

We also found sanctioned microchips in shipments from an Asian supplier to Green-Chip. Dauking Technology Co., Limited, registered in Hong Kong, shipped items produced by Analog Devices Inc., Microchip Technology Incorporated, and Mini-Circuits to the company in 2024. In 2023, Analog Devices and Microchip, Intel, Texas Instruments, and Xilinx were among the brands shipped. The headquarters of all these manufacturers are located in the United States. This means that they are subject to export control rules that prohibit the supply of goods produced using U.S. technologies to Russia and Belarus.

Dauking Technology delivered nearly 144,000 chips to Green-Chip in 2023, and at least 2,400 chips designed by international companies but produced in China in January 2024.

Ordering microchips is risk-free, Dzianis assured us: "You just send a request stating what you need and how much you need. And then it's a mere formality.” He specified that "our company here in Minsk is called SD Elektro" and sent us his e-mail address, which is hosted on the domain name sdelectro.by.

The BIC contacted OOO SD Elektro and OOO Green-Chip requesting information regarding the purchase of sanctioned chips and their intended use. As of the time of publication, the editorial team had not received a response.

Sanctions iceberg

Belarusian company TAA "PERVY KONTINENT", established just two months after the onset of the full-scale war, has sold 1,665 microchips to Russian enterprises for over $155,000 from January to June 2024. 

The owner and CEO, Ilya Tarasyuk, has spent nearly 20 years working in businesses within the military-industrial complex. [*] [*] [*] Among its clients are OAO Peleng and NP OOO OKB TSP, both of which engage in the production of electronics for military equipment. 

OOO Staut is the main buyer of Pervy Kontinent's microchips in Russia. This company is under U.S. and EU sanctions, as are some of its Russian customers, such as OOO Fregat. The latter names Russian defense companies as its key customers and partners: AO Сontsern Kalashnikov, Rostec, Roskosmos State Corporation, and AO "KONTSERN VKO "ALMAZ - ANTEI". [*]

The beneficiaries of Fregat are Stanislav Bolt, Yury Krasheninnikov, and Kirill Stekhovsky. Additionally, they own other companies with which Staut has business relations. According to our source from the Russian tax service, the turnover between Staut and Fregat from January 2023 to September 2024 exceeded 7 billion Russian rubles (approximately $71 million). 

The BIC has contacted OOO Pervy Kontinent and OOO Staut to request comment on shipments of the banned products.

BIC has reached out to the US Bureau of Industry and Security and European regulatory bodies to inquire about the measures they are implementing to restrict Belarus and Russian access to sanctioned goods, as well as their methods for monitoring compliance with these restrictions. At the time of publication, we had not received any responses from the companies or the regulators.