Faisal Khan

Full name: Faisal Abdul Mutallib Khan

Nationality: Indian 

Legal status: Sanctioned by the UK government

Faisal Khan is an Indian manpower consultant and YouTuber who used his Baba Vlogs Youtube channel to recruit Indian nationals into Russia's armed forces under the pretense of non-combat security jobs. The United Kingdom sanctioned him on May 5, 2026 under the Global Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons Sanctions Regulations 2025, finding reasonable grounds to suspect he had engaged in the "recruitment of Indian nationals using deception for the purposes of exploitation." At least two of his recruits died on the frontlines in Ukraine.

Background

Khan began working in Dubai as a salesman in 2008. He founded his manpower consultancy and YouTube channel, Baba Vlogs, in 2016, building a subscriber base of approximately 300,000. His channel marketed various overseas employment opportunities; in July 2023, he began promoting jobs in the Russian army.

In 2018, prior to his Russia-related activities, Indian authorities questioned Khan after a youth he had placed in Dubai alleged he had been forcibly converted to Islam. Khan continued operating his consultancy and channel after that inquiry.

How He Operated

Beginning in July 2023, Khan used Baba Vlogs to advertise positions within Russia's "security sector." In a video posted in September 2023 - filmed on the streets of St. Petersburg - he promised substantial salaries, government cards guaranteeing permanent residency in Russia, and categorically stated that the roles were non-combat: clearing demolished buildings and maintaining arms and ammunition. He claimed to have personally verified the safety of the jobs on offer.

Recruits paid Khan's company up to 300,000 rupees (~$3,600 USD) for his placement services. Travel was arranged as tourism. Upon arrival in Russia, recruits were coerced into signing military contracts written in Russian - a language most did not understand - and had their passports confiscated. They then received less than two weeks of weapons training before being deployed to the front.

Khan told PTC News he had sent 35 persons to Russia; he told The Guardian he had sent 26. In both accounts, he claimed to have been "misled" by a Russian intermediary about the nature of the work, saying he had "no idea they would be sent to a war zone."

His Recruits

Hemil Mangukiya, 23, from Gujarat, left for Russia in December 2023 after seeing one of Khan's recruitment videos. He told his family he was going for a security job. From Russia, he called home in distress to say he had been placed in a military training camp and then sent to the frontlines, where he dug trenches, carried ammunition and operated rifles and machine guns. His calls stopped in late February 2024. Days later, his family learned he had died in a missile strike somewhere in Ukraine. His body had not been returned at the time of reporting.

Mohammed Afsan, from Hyderabad, travelled to Moscow in November 2023 for what he was told was a security guard role. "He had no idea he was being sent to a war zone," his brother Mohammed Imran told The Guardian. Afsan died on the frontlines.

Azad Yousuf Kumar, 31, from Kashmir, paid an agent he found through YouTube 300,000 rupees (~$3,600 USD) for what he was told was a domestic worker job in Dubai. He was redirected to a military training camp in Russia, was shot in the leg during an exercise, and was then deployed to a Russian unit in Ukraine alongside other Indian and Nepali fighters. His family said he "has been urging us to get him out somehow, but we are helpless."

UK Sanctions

On May 5, 2026, the United Kingdom designated Faisal Abdul Mutallib Khan under the Global Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons Sanctions Regulations 2025. The designation imposes an asset freeze, a travel ban, and a director disqualification sanction.

The UK statement of reasons states that Khan "advertised well paid jobs within the 'Russian security sector' but, upon the recruits' arrival in Russia, they were forced to fight against their will in Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine. The recruits faced menaces including verbal abuse, threats and violence."

Sources: PTC News, The Guardian