Finnish Network Sold €30 Million in Electronics to Russia

Two Finnish citizens sold electronics to Russian military suppliers through companies in Hong Kong and Serbia, reports the Finnish broadcaster Yle.

According to MOT, Yle’s investigative program, the trade between 2022 and 2024 was worth €30 million. The report, published on October 18, 2026, traces shipments to companies serving Russia’s military industry via businesses registered overseas.

Yle names Denis Emelianov, who ran a knife shop in Lappeenranta, as a central figure. He traded electronics through PT Technology Asia in Hong Kong. Another Finnish citizen owned AKTechnology in Belgrade.

A Customer Linked to Drone Production

One recipient identified by Yle was PT Electronic in St. Petersburg. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the company in August 2024 and described it as an electronics distributor that had supplied a Russian drone manufacturer. That official finding supports Yle’s account of customers connected to weapons production.

The components can serve several purposes. Integrated circuits process data and perform electronic control functions, and they are used in civilian equipment as well as in weapons. This makes their destination and intended use critical to assessing the trade.

Yle compared manufacturers and customs product descriptions with Ukraine’s database of foreign components found in Russian weapons. According to Yle, the comparison identified parts suitable for missiles and drones. Establishing whether particular shipments ended up in specific weapons requires further evidence.

U.S. authorities had already targeted the overseas supplier. In October 2023, the Bureau of Industry and Security, which enforces American export controls, placed PT Technology Asia on its restricted Entity List. The decision cited shipments of American integrated circuits to Russian recipients connected to the defense sector after March 1, 2023.

Those product categories had been subject to U.S. export restrictions since September 2022. The listing imposed additional licensing requirements on transactions involving PT Technology Asia. Alongside its Hong Kong addresses, the notice recorded a Finnish address at Valtakatu 52 in Lappeenranta.

Overseas Companies, Finnish Responsibility

The Finnish connection goes beyond an address. The European Union’s Russia sanctions regulation applies to member states’ citizens outside the bloc, so Finnish nationals organizing trade through overseas companies can fall within its scope.

Determining a sanctions violation requires examining the products, shipment dates, applicable restrictions, permits and each person’s role. The date a customer was designated also matters when assessing individual transactions.

Emelianov told Yle that the products were intended for civilian use and that his trade was lawful. He said contracts were terminated as business partners became subject to sanctions.

Public records now show part of the corporate structure being wound down. Serbia’s business registry published a liquidation notice for AKTechnology on February 13, 2026. The company is registered in Belgrade’s old town, and creditors were invited to submit claims as the liquidation began.

Yle links another company to Emelianov: Norpa Trading in Dubai. He says his companies have ended their trade with Russia. Norpa’s own website, however, still advertises electronic component procurement, circuit board manufacturing and technical support, with customer service in Chinese, Finnish and English.