Based on the reporting by The Insider, a Russian publication that specialises in investigative journalism, fact-checking, and political analysis.
Viktor Labin, a person suspected of being an operative for Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency, has been taken into custody in Belgium, per the latest report by a Russian publication, The Insider, that had first identified Labin’s connection with Russia’s military intelligence arm in January 2024.
Belgian authorities arrested Labin on allegations that he helped arrange the export of coordinate-measuring machines considered vital to Russia’s defence industry, the media outlet that specialises in investigative journalism, reported on February 19th.
The Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the detention and said an initial court hearing has been set for February 26th. The arrest followed a police search of his property in June 2025, after which he was taken into custody.
Labin ran a business in Belgium, by the name of Groupe d’Investissement Financier, together with his sons, Roman and Ruslan. The company was reportedly involved in supplying military-related equipment to Russian contractors, with Moscow-based Sonatek LLC – described as having links to the Labin family – listed as the end recipient.
Sonatek is said to have provided support to at least 18 companies operating within Russia’s defence sector.
Per The Insider’s investigation that it disseminated in January 2024, Labin was associated with a registered address at the GRU academy in Moscow, indicating potential ties to Russia’s military intelligence establishment.
Other than the Labin-owned Sonatek, The Insider, in its latest investigative article published on February 18th, has identified 300 such intermediary companies that import sanctioned products for leading Russian defense-industry enterprises, from countries in Europe, the United States as well as other countries like China, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea.
The Russian investigative media outlet highlights the two key challenges faced by the US and its European allies while enforcing their sanctions aimed at curbing Russia’s military production.
First being the lack of clarity on which specific goods are being imported for military use, and the second one is keeping pace with the swift replacement of blacklisted firms, even as Russia’s military-industrial complex continually adapts to new Western restrictions.
To address these challenges, The Insider, suggests that simultaneously sanctioning all the 300 companies it has identified – based on its study of Russia’s domestic supply data – as involved in procuring goods for the Kremlin’s military-industrial complex simultaneously, could significantly disrupt Russia’s military production.