Toronto company owner charged in Canada’s first Russia sanctions prosecution
A Toronto businessman has been arrested and charged with violating Canada’s sanctions on Russia in what appears to be the country’s first prosecution for evading restrictions imposed over the Ukraine war.
According to court documents obtained by Global News, the Canadian government’s official news portal, Anton Trofimov, 43, owner of Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific Links Ltd, faces two counts of violating Canada’s Special Economic Measures against Russia and one count of knowingly possessing proceeds of crime.
The charges accuse Trofimov of ‘exporting, selling, supplying or shipping restricted goods and technologies to Russia between July 17 and December 8, 2022,’ Global News reported. One charge specifically refers to a section of sanctions that prohibit selling Russia materials that can be used to manufacture weapons.
Trofimov appeared in Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto and was released on bail, according to court records cited by the outlet. An email to his company in Hong Kong for comment did not receive an immediate reply.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had scheduled a news conference in London, Ontario on 28 May to announce what they called Canada’s first prosecution for violating Canada’s sanctions on Russia, but cancelled the event at the last minute without explanation, Global News reported.
Jessica Davis, a former Canadian government intelligence analyst, told the outlet that prosecutions for sanctions violations are ‘very rare in Canada’. She noted that ‘while Canada has been very active in sanctioning individuals and entities, actually detecting and disrupting sanctions evasion activity rarely occurs’.
The US Treasury sanctioned Trofimov and his company in May 2023, alleging they were part of the procurement network working to obtain technology for Russian Orlan-10 drones used extensively in Ukraine for reconnaissance and targeting.
According to Global News, a joint investigation by the Royal United Services Institute and Reuters alleged the company shipped US$5 million worth of microelectronics to a Russian company in St. Petersburg during the first eight months of the Ukraine war, with shipments including ‘items critical for the Orlan-10 UAV’.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress had written to Canada’s foreign affairs and public safety ministers in 2023 requesting action against Trofimov, with national president Alexandra Chyczij stating that ‘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’.
