Toronto company sanctioned over allegations owner supplied Russia’s drone program | Globalnews.ca
A Toronto company has been sanctioned by the United States for allegedly supplying Russia with electronics used to manufacture drones for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Anton Sergeyevich Trofimov, a Russian national with homes in Toronto, was sanctioned on Friday along with his Canadian-registered business and his Hong Kong firms.
The 41-year-old’s company Asia Pacific Links Ltd. is allegedly one of the major suppliers of electronics used to manufacture drones for the Russian military.
The U.S. Treasury alleged that Trofimov’s companies were “part of the procurement network working to obtain technology for Special Technology Center’s Orlan drones.”
The Orlan-10 is a medium-range reconnaissance drone that Russian forces have used extensively in Ukraine to pinpoint targets for artillery and rocket strikes.
Canadian officials declined to say whether Trofimov had also been added to Canada’s sanctions list. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new round of sanctions against Russia at the G7 summit in Japan on Friday.
A statement from the prime minister’s office said some of the newly sanctioned individuals and entities were “linked to Russian companies that provide military technology and know-how to Russia’s armed forces.”
In announcing the new sanctions, the U.S. Treasury said they had been imposed in coordination with the G7, and were meant to “further degrade the Russian Federation’s capacity to wage war against Ukraine.”
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress wrote to Canada’s ministers of foreign affairs and public safety in January to ask for action against Trofimov for alleged sanctions violations.
“As you can no doubt understand, the evidence that a resident of Canada is involved in the supply of technology that is being used by Russia to murder Ukrainians is of grievous concern to the UCC and to the Ukrainian Canadian community,” National President Alexandra Chyczij wrote.
Trofimov, who owns two Toronto properties worth a total of $2.7-million, could not be reached for comment.
A man with the same name, birthdate and address as the Anton Trofimov listed on the U.S. sanctions list was charged by Toronto police with impaired driving on Nov. 11, 2022.
Trofimov is the director of 10219452 Canada Inc. Although placed on the U.S. sanctions list on Friday, the company was still listed as “active” on the government’s Corporations Canada website.
Also sanctioned by the U.S. was Trofimov’s company Asia Pacific Links Ltd., a Hong Kong-based supplier to the St. Petersburg company SMT-iLogic, which in turn supplies the producer of the Orlan-10, a form known as the Special Technology Centre.
The Special Technology Centre is already on the sanctions lists of Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Ukraine due to its “significant role” in “Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine.”
Two other companies allegedly linked to Trofimov, IPS Pacific Company Ltd. and Shenzhen Yantu Import and Export Co Ltd. were also sanctioned by the U.S. for supplying Russia’s drone program.
Trofimov was sanctioned as in individual for controlling the companies.
Ukraine was the first country to sanction Trofimov, and the European Union has reportedly proposed sanctioning him. But he did not appear on Canada’s sanctions list on Friday. Global Affairs Canada has not responded to questions about him.
Since President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine last year, Western components have been turning up in surveillance and attack drones used by Russian forces.
Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones that Russia has been firing at Kyiv are made almost exclusively of Western parts, including technology from Canada, according to researchers.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said in its annual report, released on May 4, that several states were behind “clandestine efforts” to acquire sensitive goods in Canada.
Last December, a joint investigation by the Royal United Services Institute and Reuters alleged that Trofimov’s firm was the “largest supplier of microelectronics” to SMT-iLogic since the February 2022 invasion.
The report alleged the Toronto resident’s company had shipped US$5-million worth of microelectronics to SMT-iLogic during the first eight months of the Ukraine war.
“These shipments have included items critical for the Orlan-10 UAV,” it said, using the acronym for the unmanned aerial vehicle.
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