A Belgian-Russian citizen, Viktor Labin, has been sentenced to five years in prison by a Brussels court for his involvement in the illegal export of dual-use goods and chemicals to Russia. The ruling, reported by Reuters and Politico, highlights Labin’s significant role in supplying over 400 tons of materials, including sensors used for detecting and controlling explosions, as well as chemicals like yttrium oxide, essential for electronics and military applications.
The court found that Labin, alongside a Brussels entrepreneur, forged customs documents and utilized companies in Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan to disguise the final destination of their shipments as Russia. Although the majority of the exported items were not subject to sanctions, the court deemed the actions to have a ‘political’ nature.
Labin’s attorney, Stanislas Eskenazi, argued that the exported chemical was not illegal and criticized the harsh sentence, suggesting it was influenced by Labin’s Russian origins. Labin was arrested in the summer of 2025, following an investigation published by The Insider a year and a half earlier, which detailed his connections to Russian defense entities through his company, Groupe d’Investissement Financier.
According to the report, Labin supplied goods to the Russian company Sonatek, owned by his son Ruslan Labin, which provided services to at least 18 defense industry firms in Russia. The media has referred to Viktor Labin as a ‘GRU agent,’ noting his registered address in a dormitory associated with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU) in Moscow. Prosecutors in Belgium have expressed suspicions regarding his ties to Russian military intelligence.
Having spent nearly a year in custody, Eskenazi believes Labin may be eligible for parole in the coming months. Additionally, the Brussels court has sentenced Ruslan Labin in absentia to six years in prison.
Viktor Labin has been sentenced to five years in prison for illegally exporting dual-use goods to Russia. His actions, linked to military applications, have raised concerns about his connections to Russian intelligence.
Source: Reuters