British companies are among over 100 Western firms, including aerospace giant Boeing, that have exported aircraft components to India, which subsequently reached Russia, as indicated by customs data. Analysis reveals that products valued at more than $50 million have been funneled through intermediaries in India to Russian airlines and other entities over a 21-month period ending in September 2024. These components were transported in approximately 700 separate shipments, encompassing a range of items from essential generators, sensors, propeller blades, and cockpit displays to small screws, bolts, and filters.
The majority of the Russian importers appear to be civilian airlines, including Utair, which the EU has identified as also functioning as a defense contractor, receiving about a quarter of the shipments. There is no indication of any wrongdoing by Western companies, nor is there evidence that they were aware their products were being transferred to Russia by Indian firms. The direct sale of aircraft parts to Russian airlines and companies has been prohibited by the UK and the EU, with strict restrictions imposed by US authorities.
Western allies have faced challenges in addressing the numerous intermediary firms that have emerged to support Russia with Western-made goods and technology. The UK government expressed its concerns in January by issuing new guidance for exporting businesses on “countering Russian sanctions evasion,” advising firms to “conduct due diligence to ensure that the end destination of these products is not Russia.”
An analysis of Indian customs data by Investigate Europe indicates that as of last September, goods were still being sent to Russia via India, often within days of their initial dispatch. Between January 2023 and September 2024, a dozen Indian intermediaries appeared to have acquired parts from Western firms that were later sold to Russian buyers. Two UK companies were responsible for approximately 120 of the shipments identified in the customs data.
Step Aviation, registered to a Latvian national, accounted for over 60 shipments valued at more than $3 million sent to the Indian firm Shaurya Aeronautics, with nearly all of these being forwarded to three buyers in Russia. In October, the US imposed economic sanctions on Shaurya for supplying sensitive dual-use parts to Russia, as part of efforts to “diminish and degrade Russia’s ability to equip its war machine.” Shaurya has not faced sanctions from the UK or EU, and there is no record of Step sending items to Shaurya after October. Step did not respond to requests for comment.
Another firm, ASL Aerospace, based in Devon, appears to have dispatched around 60 shipments from the UK and US to four Indian companies, which were then re-exported to Russia. ASL Aerospace sent cargo from the UK to the Indian firm Agrim Aviation Private Ltd, which arrived in September, according to customs data. Agrim was sanctioned by US authorities on November 1 for “likely” diverting US-made products to the Russian aviation sector, but it has not been targeted by the UK or EU.
