Russian national charged in Toronto with illegally exporting goods to Russia

A man who lives in Toronto and runs a Hong Kong-based business that exports microelectronic parts is facing charges for allegedly violating Canada's sanctions against Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine.

Anton Trofimov, 43, was arrested by the RCMP on May 5 and charged with one count of exporting a restricted good to Russia and one count of exporting a good to Russia for the purpose of manufacturing weapons, according to documents filed in the Ontario Court of Justice.

The charges fall under the federal Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations introduced in 2014 that were amended to add more punishing sanctions at the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.

"I do think it's something that's a long time coming," said John Boscariol, a lawyer at McCarthy Tétrault in Toronto who focuses on international trade and advises companies on economic sanctions and export controls.

He says it is the first case prosecuted under the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations that he is aware of.

Trofimov also faces a charge under the Criminal Code of possessing the proceeds of property obtained by crime. The charges relate to an incident or incidents that are alleged to have occurred between July 17, 2022 and Dec. 8, 2022.

CBC News contacted Trofimov's lawyer for a response but did not immediately hear back.

Trofimov is a Russian national who has home addresses in Toronto and Hong Kong and is the director of Asia Pacific Links Ltd., a Hong Kong-based company that has been sanctioned by the United States and the U.K., according to Open Sanctions, a database that tracks international trade violators.

It says the company is the largest supplier of microelectronic components to Russian companies since the beginning of the war and that components Asia Pacific Links Ltd. exports are used to make Orlan-10 drones, a primary weapon the Russian military uses for reconnaissance to commit airstrikes in Ukraine.

"We were pleased to see that the RCMP had taken this issue seriously and had obviously found enough evidence to warrant the charges," said Ihor Michalchyshyn, executive director of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in Ottawa.

"We have believed for years that there is more of this happening than is known or than has been investigated."

In January 2023, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) wrote a letter to the federal ministers of foreign affairs and public safety flagging a media report about Trofimov and Asia Pacific Links Ltd., asking for the federal government to look into the matter.

"The 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 to the UCC and to the Ukrainian Canadian community," the congress wrote.

Trofimov is also listed on Open Sanctions as being affiliated with Hong Kong-based company IPS Pacific Company Limited and 10219452 Canada Inc., both of which are sanctioned by the United States.

The charges Trofimov is facing have yet to be tested in court.

Earlier this week, the RCMP announced it would hold a media conference that it said would provide details on a "complex and multijurisdictional investigation" that resulted in the "first prosecution for violations of the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations in Canada."

However, it cancelled the news conference the afternoon before, saying it would reschedule.

Thirty minutes later, Global News reported that Trofimov had been charged with violating Russian sanctions.

In an email response to CBC News, a spokesperson confirmed Trofimov was arrested, but would not say if it was the same case.

The spokesperson added that: "The RCMP is committed to being transparent with the public and is aiming to provide a press conference at the earliest availability to provide the public with more information on this important file."

WATCH | Largest attack so far, Ukraine says:

Russia again escalated its air attacks on Ukraine over the weekend, targeting more than 30 cities and towns with missiles and drones, including the capital as it celebrated Kyiv Day. The attacks killed at least a dozen people, some of them children, according to Ukrainian officials.

There have been a number of Canadian cases directly and indirectly involved in the illegal export of microelectronics and other components to Russia in the past few years, but charges have not been laid in Canada in those cases.

"It's very rare, unfortunately, for Canada," said Boscariol.

"That's largely because Canada doesn't have the same enforcement mechanisms or laws that you see in other countries like the United States or the United Kingdom."

The United States has aggressively prosecuted violations, including cases involving Canadians.

"I think Canada has been under some criticism, particularly with respect to its enforcement of sanctions and especially sanctions against Russia," said Boscariol.

Boscariol said these charges will send a signal to companies that manufacture goods that Russia wants that Canada takes enforcing these sanctions seriously.

He said even if Canadian companies are following the regulations, they may be dealing with third party companies or middlemen that discreetly import their products on behalf of Russia.

"They need to understand who they're selling their product to, who they are transferring their technology to, who stands behind the companies they deal with, who's going to be the ultimate end user of their product or technology."

Michalchyshyn said the Ukrainian Canadian Congress has been putting pressure on the federal government to toughen up its enforcement of its sanctions regime.

"It's one thing to put something on a list, but it's another thing to enforce it," said Michalchyshyn.

"If we can stop the export of these components to Russia, if we stop the illegal circumvention of Canadian sanctions, we will have an impact on Russia's ability to kill Ukrainians."