In this study :
- A Serbian company headed by a Russian citizen involved in procurement network for the benefit of Russian Military Industrial Complex.
- Equipment procurement going on under the use of deliveries of Chinese and Russian supplies.
- One of these suppliers is the mysterious Russian entity KNS Group, also known as Yadro LLC and Izhevsky Radiozavod.
As international sanctions continue to rain on Russia in a desolate climate of ruthless war that is claiming more Ukrainian victims every day, some Serbian companies still allow Russian entities to irrigate the Russian Military Industrial Complex (MIC) with sensitive electronic components.
The Belgrade-based company Semirtek DOO is one of them.
A Russian multi-cap in Serbia
Semirtek DOO is headed by the Russian national Igor Borisovich Bystrov, and located in the following address: Grcica Milenka 4A, Belgrade. According to our researches, Bystrov was born on July 7th, 1983 in Saint-Petersburg. After obtaining his engineering’s degree in 2005 from the Saint-Petersburg Electrotechnical University -LETI- and his master’s degree in business management from the International Management Institute -LINK-, Igor Bystrov became the head of the logistics department at the Petersburg-based company MT-System.
Igor Borisovich Bystrov.
Thus, Igor Bystrov is closely linked to two electronic-suppliers russian companies : MT-System and Semirtek DOO. This particular company seems as interesting as it is mysterious.
This only 2-years old ‘entity, without any logo, or a descent professional website, is used by Russian MIC entities as KNS Group, or LLC Atoma for paying predominantly Asian suppliers through specific circumventing channels carried out by the Russian Company MT-System.
KNS, Yadro or Izhevsky ?
Interesting fact: KNS Group is also known as Yadro LLC and Izhevsky Radiozavod. For instance, this worth noting that Yadro is pretty active within the framework of computer servers manufacturing that are meant to be implemented in low-orbit military-used satellites systems.
A Serbian corner-stone for Russian MIC
According to public reports, just for the year 2023, Semirtek DOO has exported nearly 835K US dollars worth of electronic products for the Russian company LLC Atoma, which also imported approximately 14 million US dollars of Chinese products and nearly 9 million US dollars of Hong Kong products in the 2023-2024 period). It is a cornerstone within an illegal procurement network implemented on behalf of the Russian MIC.
The Taiwanese road
One of its unscrupulous suppliers is the Taiwanese Hsuan Mao Technology company Limited, located in Taipei, which sent massive electronic components cargoes to Russia through MT-System / Semirtek’s designed routes.
Western involvment
Until December 2023, Semirtek was indeed still explicitly mentioned on invoices issued on behalf of its Russian clients, not only by Asian suppliers, but also occidental ones as the Canadian Globtec Incorporated, located in the peacefull city of Beaconsfield, Québec.
Western countries attempted to undermine networks similar to MT-System’s through more severe international sanctions. But that was neglecting the responsiveness of this sprawling network, which immediately shadowed Semirtek to let the floor to the Chinese Shanghai Yiming Logistics Company Limited, a convenient Chinese replacement to carry on with circumventing sanctions.
This highly likely shell-company is located in the same area, Shanghai Qangpu District, where lies all the logistic part of MT-System’s galaxy for which business still goes on.
Indeed, Shanghai New Chess Int’l Logistics Company Limited stores there in Zhaoxiang Town millions of electronic components for Russia, which could be eventually integrated within weapons deployed on the Ukrainian front-line.