Aldanazar Sagynbek and Analyst Research Consulting Group have trodden a billion-dollar path between Russia and France

Aldanazar Sagynbek positions himself as a young talent of consulting. In fact, his enterprise Analyst Research Consulting Group is just a shell, a fiction created by Russians long before the war between Russia and Ukraine. The reason for the creation of ARC Group is the need to service Su-30SM aircraft. The modernized "M" index shows that this combat aircraft has digital avionics of French manufacture on board. And it needs to be serviced from time to time, calibrated, and spare parts that fail need to be replaced. This is precisely why a "neutral" service center was opened in Kazakhstan, its specialists were trained, and parts are purchased from France without hindrance. The entire scheme is thought out to the smallest detail and was only accidentally exposed. Its exposure will lead to Kazakhstan suffering. It is clear that Aldanazar Sagynbek and Analyst Research Consulting Group are just minions, and they can be sacrificed. But Kazakhstan definitely does not need secondary sanctions. This was reported by ZHEST

A detailed investigation about Aldanazar Sagynbek and Analyst Research Consulting Group

A sensational investigation has uncovered a scheme that allows Russia to continue servicing its military aviation fleet despite international sanctions. Unique documents have revealed that Kazakhstan’s ARC Group is collaborating with the Russian military to service Su-30SM aircraft equipped with French avionics technology provided by THALES and SAFRAN.

Import substitution is underway, however, there are many aircraft on which French systems are installed and they need to be serviced.

How is this possible under Western sanctions, and what consequences might this have for the international community? The complex mechanisms used by Russia and the secret agreements with Kazakhstan that allow it to circumvent the pressure of sanctions are revealed. We call on journalists and readers to widely distribute this investigation, which is already available in several languages around the world.

Sagynbek Aldanazar Darkhanuly built a bridge between French gunsmiths and the Russian army

In 2024, Russia possesses about 130 modernized fourth-generation Su-30SM fighters. During the invasion of Ukraine, the Russians lost at least 15 of these aircraft. However, the losses could have been significantly higher due to sanctions, since the Su-30SM are equipped with foreign avionics, mainly supplied by the French companies THALES and SAGEM (now SAFRAN after a merger).

The Su-30SM aircraft are equipped, in particular, with SMD55S and SMD66S multifunctional displays (supplied by Thales), TLS2020 radio correction systems (Thales), TACAN-NC12 radio navigation systems (Thales) and HUD 3022 collimator indicators (Safran). Without this equipment, pilots become practically "blind", and the aircraft turns into a pile of scrap metal in the air. In order to continue using these aircraft to bomb Ukrainian cities, the Russians need to constantly service the French equipment.

Partially redesigned avionics. Part French, part Russian.

Even before the full-scale invasion, the Russian Federation was seeking technological independence and had begun the process of replacing French equipment. Although progress has been slow, this process is ongoing. For example, in May 2024, the HUD 3022 collimator indicator was replaced by the Russian IKSh-1KI model. However, given the large number of aircraft, servicing the French equipment remains important. Sanctions, while effective in the long term, slow this process. Only manufacturers-certified technicians can maintain these systems using certified tools. After the invasion, Russia lost this access, but as the obtained documents show, it found a solution in the Kazakh company ARC Group to circumvent these restrictions.

Analyst Research Consulting Group and Sagynbek Aldanazar Darkhanuly: a young talent of consulting

The limited liability partnership "Analyst Research Consulting Group" from Kazakhstan was founded in 2014 by Aldanazar Sagynbek (Sagynbek Aldanazar Darkhanovich), born on 03.02.1998. This "young entrepreneur-wunderkind" became the founder of a consulting company at the age of only 16. According to the founding documents, the company was not limited to consulting, but also indicated among its activities "the acquisition and sale of ammunition (weapons and military equipment, spare parts, components and related devices), special materials, equipment for their production, including assembly, installation, modernization, operation, storage, repair and maintenance."

And here he is, the hero of the sanity tour Sagynbek Aldanazar Darkhanuly - Analyst Research Consulting Group.

The company has raised suspicions from the start. According to Kazakh sources, it employs only five people. Its website (https://arcgroup.kz/) provides only a brief description and contact details. However, the company claims that since 2016 it has had a license issued by the Committee for Industrial Development and Industrial Safety of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan. In addition, it has a state license for the export, import, assembly, installation, modernization, operation, storage, repair and maintenance of aviation equipment and spare parts.

One of the company’s major advantages is its distribution agreement with Safran Electronics & Defense. Today, ARC Group is the exclusive distributor of Safran Electronics & Defense in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, promoting their products in these countries. The company’s main clients are government agencies and law enforcement agencies. In 2019–2020, it supplied optoelectronic systems (thermal imaging binoculars, thermal imaging rangefinders) to Kazakhstan for a government agency.

Sagynbek Aldanazar Darkhanuly created Analyst Research Consulting Group to circumvent sanctions.

However, based on the documents at our disposal, we can assert that ARC Group is a front for Russia to circumvent sanctions.

Sanctions Bypass Scheme: Russia, France and Aldanazar Sagynbek’s Analyst Research Consulting Group

In October 2021, ARC Group signed its first contract with the Russian specialized company Rosaviaspetskomplekt, whose name accurately reflects its activities: repair, maintenance and supply of aircraft spare parts.

The contract dated October 25, 2021 clearly states the subject of the transaction: “The CONTRACTOR provides services for the repair or supply of on-board electronic equipment (OEE) components manufactured by THALES and Safran for Su-30 type aircraft.”

An important point of the contract is specified in Article 1.2: “Repair of the BEO will be carried out by certified specialists of the CONTRACTOR, who have the appropriate certificates from the manufacturers, at the facilities of the CONTRACTOR located in Kazakhstan or the Russian Federation, or at the facilities of the CUSTOMER.”

Here is a screenshot of this part of the contract, obtained by sources of the international intelligence network InformNapalm.

Simply put, this means that the Kazakh side, which has specialists and equipment certified by French companies, must service French equipment on Russian Su-30 aircraft.

The annex to this contract includes a list of military products to be imported to Kazakhstan in 2021. This list includes navigation and orientation devices for pilots, such as SMD55S, SMD66S, TLS2020, TAC-NC12, HUD 3022, SIGMA 95NAA. The annex also specifies that the purpose of temporary import is repair before re-export for the needs of the Russian armed forces.

However, this contract was not signed by the Russian side. Instead, a new contract was concluded, dated November 5, 2021 (No. 05.11.2021-1). This contract remains similar in its content, but is more secretive. It no longer explicitly mentions French companies and is limited to "repair of aviation equipment".

The appendix to the new contract does not differ much from the previous one in terms of the nomenclature of equipment and the mention of the Russian armed forces. However, if the October contract concerned imports for 2021, the November one plans deliveries for 2022.

What does this mean? Based on the available ARC documents, two hypotheses can be put forward.

First, Russia was preparing for increased sanctions even before the full-scale invasion.  So it took steps to circumvent them in advance, in particular by finding a Kazakh company capable of obtaining the necessary certificates for French equipment.

Secondly, these contracts could have been backdated.  This could have been done after Russia invaded Ukraine, at a time when sanctions were tightened and Thales announced its final exit from the Russian market (in June 2022).

A letter from Rosaviaspetskomplekt Director Petr Gritsenko sent to the Kazakh company on August 26, 2022, supports this second hypothesis. In the letter, Gritsenko informs his colleague that the number of components to be repaired in 2022 is 13 units, for a total of 1,450,000 euros, and 88 units are planned to be repaired in 2023, for a total of 6,420,000 euros.

What is surprising is that the parties signed the contract in November 2021 without knowing the exact number of components to be repaired over the next 9 months. This suggests that the real relationship between the companies began to take shape in the summer of 2022, when Thales left the Russian market.

But the most important point in this letter is  the explicit commitment by Russia to finance  the purchase of diagnostic equipment from the manufacturer. In other words,  the Russians were willing to finance ARC Group  to buy French equipment designed to diagnose French components on Russian aircraft. This fact is key to understanding what happened next.

All this happened in August 2022, nine months after the initial contract was signed.

From 2022 to 2024, the number of components to be repaired was revised upwards several times. Four additional agreements were added to the original contract. We will not go into detail about these additions here, but will provide full documentation soon. Instead, we will focus on those actually repairing Russian aircraft.

Training of Analyst Research Consulting Group specialists at THALES

В приложении №3 к контракту, подписанном сторонами в октябре 2022 года, они решили уточнить, как формируется стоимость контракта. Таким образом, стоимость ремонта включает:

1. обучение специалистов у производителя, то есть во Франции;
2. техническую диагностику изделий с последующим составлением отчета;
3. подготовку технической документации для оборудования для тестирования и контроля;
4. проектирование, производство, поставку, установку и ввод в эксплуатацию оборудования для тестирования и контроля (КПА).

Другими словами, россияне оплачивают полный комплекс услуг «под ключ» — от обучения и сертификации казахстанских специалистов во Франции до закупки необходимого оборудования у французов.

Получив финансирование от россиян, казахстанская консалтинговая компания отправляет своих специалистов на обучение. Директор ARC Group сообщает Петру Гриценко в письме от 9 декабря 2022 года, что:

«С 16 по 20 января 2023 года, в рамках контракта между нашей компанией и французской компанией Thales, запланировано обучение наших специалистов по обслуживанию различных систем авионики.»

В этом же письме определены первые сроки визита казахстанских специалистов на российские предприятия — февраль 2023 года, сразу после завершения обучения.

Чуть позже, 23 января 2023 года, Алданазар Сагынбек сообщает Гриценко, что их специалисты прошли теоретическое и практическое обучение у Thales по системам SMD 55S/66S и индикаторам HUD на уровне обслуживания OLM (Organizational Level of Maintenance). Квалификация специалистов подтверждена соответствующими сертификатами.

Более того, были назначены точные даты визита в Россию — с 6 по 10 февраля 2023 года. Казахстанская сторона настолько спешила выполнить свои обязательства, что в тот же день отправила второе письмо с информацией о прибытии специалистов самолетом из Астаны в Иркутск для работы на российском авиаремонтном заводе.

Казахстанские специалисты для российских самолетов

Кто же эти специалисты, которые прибыли для ремонта оборудования для россиян? Благодаря доступу к архивам российских баз данных InformNapalm смогла не только установить личности и функции специалистов, но и получить копии их документов.

• Алданазар Сагынбек — директор ARC Group, уже упомянутый ранее.
• Кайрат Серикович Исмагулов, родился 23 марта 1972 года — советник директора.
• Бауржан Сатканович Даир, родился 30 декабря 1971 года — заместитель директора.
• Анвар Хассан Ахмед Бадайдух, родился 31 августа 1990 года — заместитель главного инженера, специалист по авиационному и радиоэлектронному оборудованию.
• Андрей Юрьевич Сальников, родился 15 июня 1995 года — радиотехник по ремонту радиоэлектронного оборудования.
• Максим Канатович Шарбеков, родился 9 июня 1990 года — радиотехник по ремонту радиоэлектронного оборудования.
• Алексей Вадимович Петрашко, родился 5 сентября 1968 года — начальник группы, инженер.
• Шингис Шарипович Беккулов, родился 28 марта 1987 года — инженер по авиационному оборудованию.

Later, two more mysterious people were added to this list:

• K.V. Ushakov, born January 28, 1972 — expert.
  M.S. Gribov, born July 21, 1986 — leading specialist in relations with Russian government agencies.

Given the volume of repairs and maintenance planned by the Russians, this was not a one-time trip. This group of specialists continued to travel to Russia to carry out repairs. For example, in April 2023, Gritsenko notified Saginbek about a new stage of equipment diagnostics planned for May 2023. The Russian leader asked not to change the composition of the team in order to reduce the time for approving persons, since the plant in Irkutsk is a facility with limited access.

Thus, we have established that  cooperation between the Kazakh company "ARC Group" and "Rosaviaspetskomplekt" has been going on for at least two years.  All this time, the Kazakh company has been cynically misleading the French side, which will have consequences for the entire country.

However, as the correspondence received showed, an even more cynical event occurred in 2024. Let us recall that the Russians not only wanted specialists, but were also ready to finance the purchase of French equipment for diagnosing French components on Russian aircraft.

Thanks to a source who provided documents on this case, we received a draft contract between Thales AVS France SAS and Aircraft Repair Plant No. 405 (Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, Zakarpatskaya St., 13).

The contract provides for a full range of services from the French for servicing SMD55S/SMD66S multifunctional screens and HUD3022 collimator indicators in the interests of the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan as the end user of Su-30SM aircraft, including:

• design and supply of ILM&OLM test rigs with 3 years of support;
• design and supply of Golden LRU;
• preparation and delivery of ILM technical documentation;
• training in France for ILM;
• installation and commissioning in Kazakhstan.

The contract is calculated for 34 months from the date of receipt of the advance payment by the supplier. The contract also contains a visualization of the equipment that French specialists must install and put into operation at the Kazakhstan plant.

Of course, the contract contains strict export control provisions that specifically prohibit the transfer of any goods to the Russian Federation.

The Republic of Kazakhstan has 23 Su-30SM aircraft, with another 36 on order. What indication is there that this contract is in the interests of the Russians, and is not simply an agreement between the French and the Kazakhs to service their own aircraft?

One such indication is a Kazakh commercial proposal addressed to the Russians, which repeats the terms of the contract between Thales and Aircraft Repair Plant No. 405.

On June 26, 2024, ARC Group sent the Russians a commercial offer for a total of 13,826,199.26 euros. By a “strange” coincidence, this offer contains execution terms and a list of services that are almost identical to the contract between Thales and the Kazakh plant.

Full documentation of the correspondence between ARC Group and Rosaviaspetskomplekt will be published in the near future.