The Insider: Companies in Kazakhstan Supply Electronic Equipment to Russia

The Insider reports that large shipments of measuring instruments from leading Western companies, officially intended for Kazakhstan, are being redirected to Russia.

The journalists discovered a network of firms that purchase advanced equipment from German, French, and American manufacturers. This equipment is used in developing and producing electronic warfare systems (EW). 

Customs data reveals the supply chain and confirms that Russia is the final destination. The Insider also contacted the middleman, who confirmed the shipments to Russia.

Supply Chain

Since November 2023, Askarlab has imported radio equipment worth about two million dollars. 

The list includes oscilloscopes, radio frequency filters, frequency analyzers, RF adapters, amplifiers, attenuators, frequency expanders, satellite modems, and vector network analyzers.

This equipment is manufactured by Rohde & Schwarz (Germany), Safran Data Systems (France), Mini-Circuits (USA), and Farran Technology (Ireland).

Kazakhstan's customs data indicates that the goods arrive by plane and are cleared at the Jetysu customs post in Almaty. Some are then sent to Russia.

On March 11, 2024, a Rohde & Schwarz oscilloscope was registered at the Almaty customs office.

The recipient was Askarlab. And on April 8, 2024, a similar device was cleared at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport customs office. The sender was Panalem Technologies, and the recipient was the Russian Infostera LLC.

In December 2023 - January 2024, Kazakhstan customs registered the import of eight Cortex modems.

One modem costs about 92 thousand dollars. During the same period, Russian customs recorded the import of six similar modems via Kazakhstan. The average cost of the modems indicated in Russian documents was already 110 thousand dollars. 

In November 2023, Askarlab imported signal generators worth $700,000. A month later, similar equipment worth $800,000 was sent from Kazakhstan to Russia. The recipient was again Infostera LLC.

In November 2023, Dicosta Technologies purchased equipment from Keysight Technologies for a million dollars.

The list includes noise generators, signal analyzers, and attenuators. Production was carried out in Malaysia, and purchases were made through Keysight's Spanish office.

In February 2024, Almaty customs registered the import of two N5181B MXG signal generators worth $20,000 per unit. In March, the same devices were documented in Russia.

The Insider contacted Dicosta Technologies, posing as a Moscow-based buyer from intermediary firm “ABC” to request a Keysight price list. A Dicosta employee confirmed the company’s role in these supplies through another intermediary and offered to send a price list via email. When asked about purchasing Rohde & Schwarz equipment via Askarlab, the employee suggested reaching out to a representative of the Almaty-based official distributor for Rohde & Schwarz. Attempts to reach Askarlab were unsuccessful. Panalem Technologies has no publicly available contact information.

the investigation says.

The Network 

According to The Insider, the scheme involves:

• Askarlab — purchasing equipment in Europe, reselling it to Russia
• Dicosta Technologies — deliveries via Kazakhstan, active cooperation with Keysight
• Panalem Technologies and Computer Services Ltd - transit through Kazakhstan to Russia
• Russian recipients: Infostera LLC, Gigalab LLC, Euro-tech LLC, and Scientific and Production Firm Dipol JSC

Orda.kz delved into more details concerning the following companies:

Askarlab 

The company has been operating since 2016. The founders are Alexander Lisitsyn, Ekaterina Tikhonova and Yerzhan Salikhov. However, since 2019, Lisitsyn has been listed as its sole founder and director.

The LLP has no explicit specialization, but its history includes many completed government contracts.

Most are for the supply and maintenance of medical equipment. Judging by tax liabilities, the company's more significant operations started in 2022. 

In 2022, the LLP paid 28 million tenge in taxes, and in 2023 – 225 million. So far, in 2024, the company has paid only 110 million tenge in taxes.

Correspondence obtained by The Insider reveals that, Alexander Lisitsin, CEO of the Kazakhstan-based company Askarlab, promised to supply Keysight equipment — including the N8481A power sensor and N1914A power meter — to the Russian firm Dipaul JSC, the journalists report.

Dicosta Technologies

Dicosta Technologies has operated since 2001.

Its founders have not changed; they remain Lyudmila Borodina and Alexander Serazetdinov. 

Over the years, the company has paid several tens of millions of tenge annually in taxes. 2023 was the most lucrative – 225 million tenge in taxes. 

The two companies have no official connection but have the same email domains: [email protected] for Askarlab and [email protected] for Dicosta Technologies.

Original Author: Ilya Astakhov