Dubai transit of the Russian Railways contractor: structures linked to Boris Usherovich and Ilya Plotitsa use German nominees and the company Ishara Al Barq General Trading to bypass sanctions

Structures linked to Russian Railways and the Rotenberg brothers supply sanctioned telecommunications equipment and components for drone production in Russia through the Dubai-based company Ishara Al Barq General Trading LLC.

The nominal director of Ishara Al Barq General Trading LLC is listed as German citizen Hubert Lorenz.

According to available information, the actual head of the company is Russian citizen Jafar Zeynalov (born 28.02.1982), who holds the position of financial director.

Ishara Al Barq General Trading LLC is owned by Boris Usherovich, co-owner of the 1520 group of companies, the main contractor for Russian Railways, and his relative, Ilya Plotitsa.

Until 2024, Jafar Zeynalov was based in Cyprus and worked for the Cypriot companies Venisat Technology Ltd, Broxner PLC, and Main Victory Corporation Ltd, all owned by Usherovich and Plotitsa. In Moscow, he also worked for Ilya Plotitsa’s company, the Communication Systems Development Center.

According to the source, Ishara Al Barq General Trading LLC currently supplies hundreds of millions of dollars worth of sanctioned products to Russia. The bulk of these shipments are made through companies registered in Turkey, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.