The headquarters of “Canada’s most controversial arms supplier” is a sprawling warehouse complex in the United Arab Emirates that produces armoured vehicles for the world’s war zones.
asserted
that → sprawl → zones
Gherman Goutorov started Streit Group in the 1990s in a strip mall north of Toronto, before moving his manufacturing hub far from the reach of Canadian arms control laws.
Since then, the Canadian citizen has acquired a $12 million superyacht, a $6 million French chateau-style mansion and a pro-Russia celebrity brand ambassador, Steven Seagal.
asserted
citizen → start → superyacht
But a Global News investigation has found that Goutorov’s company has a significant record of business dealings with Russia, and is facing growing international scrutiny as a result.
asserted
company → find → result
For the past year, Western governments have been turning up the heat on Goutorov, accusing the 60-year-old of equipping Russian forces amidst the Ukraine war.
asserted
governments → turn → war
The 27 nations of the European Union, as well as Switzerland, placed Streit Group on their sanctions lists last October, and then added Goutorov himself in May.
“Goutorov is supporting Russia’s military and industrial complex by being involved in the supply of military technology and equipment,” the EU wrote.
uncertain
EU → place → technology
On Aug. 6, the Canadian government sanctioned Streit Group as well, claiming the company’s vehicles were used by Russia’s Rosgvardia, which is involved in the Ukraine war.
asserted
which → sanction → war
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said that “by supplying Russian entities with defence products, Streit Group continues to feed Russia’s war machine.”
She did not provide further details, but records uncovered by Global News show the company opened an armoured vehicle factory east of Moscow in 2009.
Customs records also show that Streit Group continued trading with Russia even after President Vladimir Putin launched his 2014 and 2022 invasions of Ukraine.
The company, meanwhile, has started manufacturing a line of drones that appear identical to models sold by a Russian government-backed Moscow business.
asserted
that → say → business
Streit Group, which emerged from Ontario but shifted its head office to the Emirates in 2012, has not responded to questions from Global News.
asserted
which → emerge → News
One of the world’s largest armoured vehicle makers, it has previously dismissed concerns about its record, saying it follows UAE law.
“Streit Group has denied responsibility for how its vehicles are modified or used after sale,” according to a Canadian government briefing note.
uncertain
vehicles → dismiss → note
Goutorov has appealed the European sanctions, arguing they wrongly concluded the company supported Russia.
asserted
company → appeal → Russia
There is no record of it appealing Canada’s sanctions.
asserted
it → be → sanctions
Controversy is nothing new to Streit Group, which says it has 25 worldwide offices, 2,000 employees and factories in the Middle East and North America.
asserted
it → say → East
The U.S. fined the company in 2015 over illegal shipments to Iraq, and United Nations monitors have repeatedly accused it of illicit exports to Libyan militias.
asserted
monitors → fin → militias
Sudanese paramilitaries, Guinea’s military junta and riot police in Russian-puppet state Belarus have all been spotted in what appear to be Streit armoured vehicles.
asserted
what → spot → state
For that, Streit Group has been called a “prolific Canadian sanctions violator” that “provides a road map for other arms suppliers who may wish to dodge Canadian export controls.”
uncertain
who → call → controls
The UAE embassy in Ottawa did not respond to questions about the company, but several experts said the Arab country recognized few sanctions.
asserted
country → respond → sanctions
By moving to the Emirates, Streit Group effectively put itself out of reach of Western counter-proliferation systems, allowing it to serve what have been called “problematic customers.”
asserted
what → move → systems
As a result, a major defence company that emerged from Canada, and is headed by a Canadian, seems to be operating at odds with Canada’s foreign policy priorities.
asserted
that → emerge → priorities
As Ottawa ramps up military spending amid worsening U.S. relations, a Royal Military College professor said Canada could not afford to ignore the lessons.
uncertain
Canada → ramp → lessons
Streit Group “is now actively working against the interests of Canada and its closest allies and partners,” said Christian Leuprecht, a national security and defence expert.
asserted
Leuprecht → work → Canada
“And so we need to learn about how that was possible,” he said.
asserted
he → need → ?
“We need to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
asserted
that → need → ?
From Ontario to 'breaching arms embargoes'
The Soviet Union was collapsing when Goutorov arrived in Canada in the early 1990s and moved into a home in Richmond Hill, Ont.
asserted
Goutorov → breach → Hill
He had spent five years in Russia’s police and said he had seen “so many criminal situations” that made him want to “protect the people.”
asserted
him → spend → people
“And I start to look for armoured cars, and I end up making them myself,” he told CNN in a 2013 interview at his factory in the UAE.
asserted
he → start → UAE
With only “some basic tools, a rented workshop, overextended credit and an order for three armoured vans,” he formed Streit Manufacturing.
asserted
he → rent → Manufacturing
Incorporated in Ontario in 1996 by Goutorov and Anton Stefov, Streit Manufacturing opened an armoured vehicle plant in Innisfil, Ont.
asserted
Manufacturing → incorporate → Innisfil
Customers included the Toronto Transit Commission, U.S. Army and gold and jewellery companies, according to a Canadian court ruling.
uncertain
Customers → include → ruling
Most employees were “of Russian extraction,” and the workplace language was “92 per cent to 95 per cent Russian,” a worker arrested for drunk driving testified.
asserted
worker → arrest → driving
After what an Ontario judge called an “acrimonious falling out,” the partners split their business, with Goutorov taking full control of Streit.
asserted
Goutorov → call → Streit
Looking to expand, Goutorov opened a factory in the UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah free trade zone in 2012, bringing him closer to customers in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
asserted
Goutorov → look → East
Emirati authorities gave him a business licence in just one week, he said, opening “new areas where we (are) able to sell our product”
asserted
we → give → product
But one of those areas was Libya, where Streit Group was soon accused of running afoul of a UN arms embargo by shipping armoured vehicles to the country’s militias.
asserted
Group → accuse → militias
Streit countered that the UAE approved the shipments and denied violating international law.
asserted
UAE → counter → law
At least some of the vehicles were unarmed when shipped.
asserted
some → ship → vehicles
But the UN panel called the 2012 exports an “illicit transfer” and a “violation of the arms embargo” imposed on Libya by the Security Council.
asserted
panel → call → Council
In February 2015, Greek customs authorities seized eight more Streit Group armoured vehicles that were aboard a Liberian-registered ship bound for Libya.
asserted
that → seize → Libya
The UN’s Libya monitoring group reported that the forces of warlord Khalifa Haftar later received deliveries of Streit vehicles, in violation of the embargo.
asserted
forces → report → embargo
The company’s troubles continued in 2015, when the U.S. fined it $3.5 million for the “unlawful re-export of U.S. origin vehicles.”
asserted
U.S. → continue → vehicles
Goutorov was personally fined $250,000.
asserted
Goutorov → fin → 250,000
…and 89 more, not listed.
The Aporia
