China and Hong Kong remain the main hubs through which Russia receives large quantities of sanctioned Western electronic components to support its military-industrial complex. Despite massive export restrictions imposed by the US and EU after the full-scale invasion, Russia continues to purchase foreign technology, resorting to ingenious camouflage schemes.
China and Hong Kong remain the main hubs through which Russia receives large quantities of sanctioned Western electronic components to support its military-industrial complex. Despite massive export restrictions imposed by the US and EU after the full-scale invasion, Russia continues to purchase foreign technology, resorting to ingenious camouflage schemes.
This is evidenced by an analysis of thousands of addresses of foreign suppliers conducted by the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO).
To hide the real contents of their shipments, some companies are changing their public profiles. In particular, the Chinese company NuanQin Technology from Shenzhen positions itself as a manufacturer of “smart toys for adults.”
However, customs data indicate a completely different activity: the company supplies microelectronics and components of Western origin to the Russian Federation. According to NAKO, one of the consignments alone, worth $17,214, contained 10,000 monolithic integrated circuits for industrial use.
In total, between January 2023 and February 2025, NuanQin Technology made at least 30 deliveries to the Russian importer Legion Komplekt LLC for a total amount of about $425,900. Instead of intimate goods, the following were sent to the Russian Federation:
electric motors (worth over $176,000) — used to equip military drones;
integrated circuits and dual-purpose industrial electronics;
navigation equipment.
