Toronto address listed shipping $80M of electronics for 'Russian war machine'

A Caribbean shell company has smuggled at least $80 million worth of electronics into Russia under the disguise of a Canadian address, according to leaked Russian trade filings obtained by CBC News. 

The scheme appears to be part of a Kremlin initiative involving a covert web of multinational buyers and producers that source sanctioned technologies from Western countries, the majority of which come from Chinese stockpiles and manufacturers, to help produce weapons for Russia's war with Ukraine.

"My initial reaction was that this looked like a really egregious breach of [Canada's sanction regime]," said Jessica Davis, an Ottawa-based financial crimes expert who viewed the data and previously worked with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

"It seemed really surprising that somebody would be so blatant about facilitating these kinds of goods to Russia, particularly in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war."

Two separate sources, one from a government agency and the other an academic watchdog, provided the 2023 import data, which was then cross-referenced for its authenticity by two experts. CBC News has agreed to keep the sources confidential to protect against retribution from the Russian government.

Alburton Enterprises Inc. is one of the top Canadian entries in the trade filings and uses a suburban Toronto residence as the "supplier address" for more than 1,400 deals involving microelectronics and other computer components.

The imports show a common theme: Russian front companies shielding direct business with Chinese manufacturers to protect the flow of precious microelectronics from seizure and keep Chinese companies out of a risky venture upsetting Western business partners.

The Biden administration has repeatedly warned Beijing against supplying the Kremlin with weapons, a charge China has denied. But in recent months, China has come under fire after some of its microelectronics slipped into Russia. 

Davis said using a Canadian entity like Alburton could be a way to obfuscate "scrutiny from U.S. law enforcement," because having a "Canadian address and a Canadian company can sometimes lend a veneer of legitimacy to companies doing this kind of business."

In a statement to CBC News, the RCMP, which investigates Canadian sanctions violations, said it has not laid charges relating to the export of microelectronics into Russia.

While Alburton has no website or extensive online presence indicating its business or origins, Ontario government records show it was first incorporated in the British Virgin Islands in 2012 and then obtained an extra-provincial licence in 2015 to operate as a foreign business in the province. 

Alburton appears to use its status as a quasi-Canadian company to buy components made by tech industry giants like Samsung, Huawei, Intel and H3C from China, Taiwan (the global leader in microchips) and Malaysia, among others. 

It appears to transport them, under the Alburton banner, to one of two Moscow-based computer companies: Rubion, which says it is accredited by the Russian government, and Obltransterminal LLC, a company under U.S. sanctions for providing equipment to the Russian military.

The Ontario records named Edward Poberezkin as Alburton's agent for service, meaning an appointee responsible for receiving notarized mail on behalf of a company in Ontario. His residence is the same address on the Russian customs data.