UK Sanctions Alabuga Drone Factory Recruiters by Name - Including a Cameroonian-French Executive Running Recruitment From Europe

The United Kingdom sanctioned 18 individuals and entities on May 5, 2026 under its Russia sanctions regime - including three people directly named as recruiters for the Alabuga Start Programme, Russia's scheme to recruit foreign nationals, primarily from Africa, into drone manufacturing at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan.

This is the first time UK sanctions have named specific individuals running the Alabuga recruitment pipeline.

The Alabuga recruiters sanctioned:

1. Michel Guy France Awana Ateba (b. 05.04.1985, Cameroonian-French national) - Director and CEO of Enangue Holding, a company incorporated in France but headquartered in Cameroon. The UK government states he recruited foreign nationals, largely from Cameroon, into the Alabuga Start Programme. He is now subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
2. Elmir Saifullin (b. 22.07.1994, Russian national, email: esaifullin@alabuga.ru) - directly involved in recruiting foreign nationals for the Alabuga Start Programme. Asset freeze and travel ban imposed.
3. Chulpan Islamova (b. 07.07.1998, Russian national) - directly involved in recruiting foreign nationals for the Alabuga Start Programme. Asset freeze and travel ban imposed.

The UK sanctions notice describes the Alabuga Start Programme in unambiguous terms: a Russian recruitment scheme that hires individuals from outside Russia, usually from economically insecure backgrounds, using deceptive practices, and puts them to work producing military drones that are then deployed as attack and reconnaissance vehicles in Ukraine.

The remaining 15 sanctioned entities include companies based in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Russia involved in supplying goods and technology that contribute to Russia's war effort - among them M9 Logistics (HK) Limited, Sea 2 Sky Co. Ltd (Bangkok), Canopus Trading Group Co. Ltd (Thailand), and Eltech Component LLC (St. Petersburg).

The sanctioning of named Alabuga recruiters - particularly a European-headquartered executive operating out of France - marks a significant escalation in accountability for the scheme. Until now, Alabuga's recruitment pipeline into Africa had been extensively documented by investigators and journalists but largely unpunished at government level.

The Alabuga Special Economic Zone is a Russian military drone assembly facility in Tatarstan. StopRussianRecruiters.org strongly warns all foreign nationals against accepting any employment offers connected to Alabuga or the Alabuga Start Programme. The facility produces attack drones actively deployed against Ukraine and is a legitimate military target under international humanitarian law — making it a direct personal safety risk for anyone working there.

The UK sanctions notice confirms what investigators have documented for months: Russia is recruiting foreign nationals — primarily from Cameroon and other African countries — into Alabuga's weapons production lines under false pretenses, presenting the work as professional training in logistics, hospitality, or catering. In reality, recruits are put to work assembling military drones in a facility that Ukraine has both the right and the capability to strike.

Source: UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Sanctions Notice