International investigation led to arrest of man charged with breaking Russia sanctions: RCMP

The RCMP say the arrest of a Russian national who is alleged to have illegally exported goods to Russia came as a result of a transnational investigation, involving a number of ports outside of Canada.

Anton Trofimov, who lives in Toronto, was arrested 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 of Ukraine in 2022.

The 43-year-old 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 reported Trofimov's arrest last week, but RCMP didn't confirm the arrest until a news conference on Friday.

 International policing agencies, including the FBI, were involved in the investigation the RCMP said.

Unclear if goods were used in Russian war effort: police

The RCMP alleged that Trofimov was gathering electronic components from around the world and shipping them to Asia before they were shipped to Russia.

In addition to his Toronto home, Trofimov has a home address in 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.

The RCMP wouldn't specify what components Trofimov is alleged to have shipped to Russia, but one officer at Friday's news conference said the components could be used for civilian or military purposes. The RCMP said it's unknown if the components were used in the Russian war effort.