A French company based in Chateauroux continues to supply avionics and other onboard electronic equipment for Russian aircraft used by high-ranking military and political figures. The equipment enables secure and reliable communication for mobile phones used by Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
The company, PGA, a subsidiary of the American Astronics Corporation, provides advanced systems that control various in-flight aspects, from cabin lighting to communication and data transmission systems, for aircraft used by high-ranking Russian officials.
“For equipping, upgrading or maintaining the aircraft of high-ranking Russian officials and oligarchs, the Russian authorities use specialists from a company based in the heart of France, in Chateauroux, several thousand kilometers from Moscow,” Le Parisien reported in an investigative piece.
Other high-ranking officials who use the equipment include the head of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, and Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Aircraft such as the Il-96 and Sukhoi 100 superjets used by Shigu and Peskov are among those equipped with electronics supplied by the French company. Business with Russian customers has not only persisted despite sanctions, but has also expanded, with the company reportedly earning between €4 million and €5 million in revenue with the communication device sales to Russia, which corresponds to equipping seven aircraft.
To evade sanctions, the investigation reveals a complex scheme involving shipping equipment in containers filled with various items to a company operating near Yerevan, Armenia, before being transported to Moscow for installation. It appears that payments to the French company are routed through Dubai in the United Arab Emirates
However, complications have arisen in the scheme as a result of tensions between Russia and Armenia, forcing a change in the transport route directly to Moscow. This was discovered via tracking devices attached to the cargo.
