The model, British tech and Russia's war machine

High-tech instrumentality made by a UK steadfast worthy $2.1m (£1.6m) has been sold to companies successful Russia connected to the military, customs documents seen by BBC News suggest.

The documents bespeak the British-made camera lenses were shipped by a institution registered successful Kyrgyzstan, seemingly tally by a swimwear model.

The UK manufacturer, Beck Optronic Solutions, which has worked connected British Challenger 2 tanks and F35 combatant jets, told america it had not breached sanctions, had nary dealings with Russia oregon Kyrgyzstan, and was unaware of the shipments.

Our probe raises questions astir the effectiveness of sanctions imposed connected Russia since the warfare successful Ukraine began.

The way led america to Valeria Baigascina, a 25-year-old, primitively from the cardinal Asian authorities of Kazakhstan but present surviving successful Belarus. A part-time model, she posts regularly astir her jet-set manner connected societal media. In the past 2 years she has visited Dubai, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

Her societal media gave nary denotation she was besides the manager of a steadfast which had channelled millions of dollars’ worthy of instrumentality to sanctioned companies successful Russia, arsenic our hunt of customs documents revealed.

According to Belarusian registration details, Ms Baigascina was the laminitis and manager of a institution called Rama Group LLC. Set up successful February 2023, it is registered to an code successful Bishkek, the superior of Kyrgyzstan - 2,300 miles (3,713 km) from her location successful Belarus.

Both countries are erstwhile Soviet states with beardown trading links to Russia. Belarus remains Moscow’s strongest state successful Europe.

Trade information shows that since sanctions connected Russia were introduced successful February 2022, UK exports to Kyrgyzstan person accrued by much than 300%. Experts fishy immoderate goods are really destined for Moscow.

The customs documents obtained by the BBC suggest that Rama Group made 2 shipments to Moscow of high-end optics that tin beryllium utilized successful missiles, tanks and aircraft.

The instrumentality is listed connected the customs signifier arsenic being made by Beck Optronic Solutions successful Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. The institution manufactures high-precision lenses utilized successful targeting and surveillance systems.

Though immoderate of its lenses are utilized successful healthcare and engineering, Beck’s website details extended subject and defence applications.

The lenses and optical exertion sold by Beck Optronics are specifically listed arsenic goods that either cannot beryllium legally exported to Russia, oregon that request support from UK authorities earlier immoderate merchantability tin instrumentality place.

The BBC has identified, done customs documents, a full of six shipments of products said to person been made by Beck with a full worth of $2.1m (£1.6m) and transferred to Moscow done Rama and different intermediary company, Shisan LLC.

In December 2023 and January 2024, Rama Group made its 2 shipments to Moscow listing them arsenic “rotating portion of camera”. These shipments went to Sol Group, a institution based successful Smolensk, 200 miles (320km) south-west of Moscow, which has been sanctioned by the US.

It is not wide what planetary way the goods took - the documents bespeak immoderate of the shipments whitethorn really person originated successful Thailand.

Shisan LLC, different Kyrgyz company, was liable for 4 further shipments of Beck Optronics’ products worthy $1.5m (£1.1m).

Two of those shipments progressive “short-wave infrared camera lens” and went to the Ural Optical & Mechanical Plant, which makes bomb-aiming instrumentality and is besides sanctioned due to the fact that of its links to the Russian military.

Rama Group and Shisan stock the aforesaid code successful Bishkek - a modern five-storey artifact successful a prosperous portion of the city. However, erstwhile we visited we were told Valeria Baigascina was retired of the state connected a concern trip.

We recovered her fig done her societal media posts and enactment our allegations to her.

Ms Baigascina said she was the laminitis of the institution but had sold it successful May. She denied the allegations, saying that erstwhile she had owned it, “nothing similar that was supplied”. She past hung up.

Later, by email, she told america the accusations were “ridiculous” and based connected “false information”.

Our probe shows that successful May this twelvemonth she sold Rama Group to her champion friend, Angelina Zhurenko, who runs a lingerie concern successful Kazakhstan.

Ms Zhurenko told us: “Trading activities are carried retired exclusively wrong the model of the existent authorities of Kyrgyzstan. The institution does not interruption immoderate prohibitions. Any different accusation is false.”

The manager of the different intermediary company, Shisan, is listed arsenic Evgeniy Anatolyevich Matveev. We enactment our allegations to him by email.

He told america that our accusation was “false” and that helium ran “a concern supplying exclusively civilian goods manufactured successful Asian countries”.

He continued: “This does not contradict the laws of the authorities successful which I work, and has thing to bash with US sanctions, due to the fact that it is intolerable to prohibit escaped commercialized successful Asian goods disposable for merchantability and delivery.”

There’s nary grounds that Beck Optronics knew astir these shipments oregon that the last destination of the lenses was Russia.

The institution told america it had thing to bash with the shipments: “Beck has not shipped thing contrary to UK export controls oregon immoderate sanctions applying successful the UK. It has had nary dealings with immoderate enactment oregon institution successful Russia, Kyrgyzstan oregon Thailand, was not alert that immoderate shipments mightiness yet beryllium destined for immoderate of these destinations and has not shipped thing to these destinations.”

It believes immoderate of the instrumentality listed wasn’t adjacent made by the institution and that customs documents whitethorn person been falsified.

But these alleged exports are portion of a overmuch bigger representation involving shipments from a fig of sources.

Analysis of customs documents by the Washington-based information deliberation vessel C4ADS suggest that Shisan completed 373 shipments via Kyrgyzstan to Russia betwixt July and December 2023.

Of these, 288 contained goods that autumn nether customs codes for “high-priority battlefield items”.

Over the aforesaid six-month period, Rama Group completed a full of 1,756 shipments to Russia. Of these, 1,355 were for items connected the “high-priority battlefield items” list.

Its astir caller shipments, including electronics by US and UK companies, went to a Russian institution named Titan-Mikro, which has been taxable to US sanctions since May 2023 for operating wrong Russia’s subject sector.

“When they merchantability this exertion to a lawsuit who is perchance a Russian end-user, they afloat should recognize that this is to termination people,” says Olena Tregub from NAKO, Ukraine’s autarkic anti-corruption organisation.

She warns that the holes successful the sanctions authorities are costing lives.

“Without those technologies, those weapons would not fly. The encephalon of those ballistic missiles, the encephalon of those kamikaze drones, are made of Western technology,” she says.

International authorities are alert of Kyrgyzstan’s relation successful sanctions evasion.

In April, UK’s overseas caput astatine the time, David Cameron, travelled to Bishkek and urged the Kyrgyz authorities to bash much to tighten their sanctions' compliance.

The Kyrgyz president expressed assurance that Lord Cameron’s authoritative sojourn to his state would “give caller impetus to multifaceted co-operation betwixt Kyrgyzstan and the UK”.

David O’Sullivan, the EU’s Special Envoy for the Implementation of Sanctions told america that efforts proceed to unopen down “illicit procurement networks”, and that “companies are required to undertake owed diligence checks to recognize who is the last end-user and wherever ‘battlefield items’ extremity up ultimately”.