One of the biggest corporate donors to the populist Reform U.K. party has sold almost $2 million worth of transmitters, cockpit equipment, antennas and other sensitive technology to a major supplier of Moscow’s blacklisted state weapons agency, documents show.
From 2023 to 2024, the company, part of the British aerospace manufacturer H.R. Smith Group, shipped the equipment to an Indian firm that is the biggest trading partner of the Russian arms agency, Rosoboronexport.
H.R. Smith Group donated 100,000 pounds (just under $130,000) to Reform U.K. last year, two days after Nigel Farage was announced as the party’s leader. The company is run by Richard Smith, a businessman who owns 55 Tufton Street, a Westminster townhouse that is home to some of Britain’s most influential right-wing lobbying and research groups.
H.R. Smith Group said that its sales were lawful and that the equipment was destined for an Indian search-and-rescue network. The parts “support lifesaving operations” and are “not designed for military use,” said Nick Watson, a lawyer for the company.
The records do not prove that H.R. Smith’s products ended up in Russia. But they show that, in some instances, the Indian company received equipment from H.R. Smith and, within days, sent parts to Russia with the same identifying product codes.
The components have civilian and military uses and have been flagged by the British and American authorities as critical to Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. Officials have urged exporters to carry out detailed checks to ensure that their clients are not redirecting restricted equipment to Moscow. The Indian state-owned company, Hindustan Aeronautics, is identifiable in public records as a supplier to the Russian military but is not under financial sanctions.
H.R. Smith declined to say what due diligence it conducted before making the sales, or whether it sought assurances from Hindustan Aeronautics that its products would not end up in Russia.
India’s willingness to trade with Russia, despite Western sanctions, has complicated efforts to isolate President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and undermine his military. Hindustan Aeronautics did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Mr. Farage is trying to establish himself as the new voice of British conservatism, but has generated controversy at times over comments perceived as pro-Russian.
Most Britons support Ukraine, polls show, and last year, support for Reform U.K. fell after Mr. Farage claimed that the West had provoked Russia into the war. Last month, the former leader of Reform U.K. in Wales appeared in court on accusations of accepting bribes to make statements in the European Parliament that would benefit Russia and its invasion of Ukraine.
Reached by phone, Mr. Farage said that he has “never approved of anything Putin has done,” but declined to comment on H.R. Smith’s sales. A party spokesman said the donation was lawful.
“Such woeful attempts to smear Reform will not work,” the spokesman said.
What the records show
The New York Times reviewed shipping records showing that Techtest, which is owned by the H.R. Smith Group, made 118 shipments of restricted technology to Hindustan Aeronautics in 2023 and 2024.
The parts, identified using specific international codes, were sold for almost $2 million.
During that period, the Indian firm made at least 13 shipments of the same type of parts to a buyer for Rosoboronexport, which is blacklisted by the British and American authorities. The Russian arms agency paid more than $14 million for the equipment, according to the records.
On Sept. 2, 2023, for example, Techtest sold Hindustan Aeronautics two shipments of restricted equipment, including location transmitters and remote controllers. Nineteen days later, the Indian company sold parts to Russia with matching identification codes.
Techtest sold another shipment of restricted technology to India on Feb. 4, 2024. Eighteen days later, Hindustan Aeronautics sold equipment with matching codes to a buyer for Rosoboronexport, customs data shows.
The British and American governments banned the sale of those goods, known as “common high priority items,” to Russia after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Is this legal?
Companies are required to investigate their customers before selling sensitive technology. Mr. Watson said that H.R. Smith takes its “supply chain obligations extremely seriously” and follows all relevant export controls.
The Times shared details of the sales with five experts on U.K. and U.S. export control and sanctions. Every expert said that, depending on what due diligence Techtest carried out, the company may have breached export controls. Some said it was a possible sanctions violation.
The National Crime Agency, sometimes referred to as Britain’s F.B.I., issued a “red alert” in 2023 warning businesses to watch out for intermediaries that redirect sensitive equipment to Russia.
Public corporate records show that Rosoboronexport is Hindustan Aeronautics’ biggest trading partner. The Indian firm is also listed as a Russian supplier in commercial due diligence tools and screening databases that the U.S. government advises exporters to check.
Techtest made more than 70 shipments of “Tier 2” items — one of the most sensitive technology categories — to Hindustan Aeronautics from 2023 to 2024, customs records show.
Alina Lobzina contributed research.
