Michel Ateba

Full name: Michel Guy France Awana Ateba 

Date of birth: 05.04.1985 

Nationality: Cameroonian

Country of birth: Cameroon 

National identifier: 111507186 

Passport: 0921768 

Background: Director and CEO of Enangue Holdings, a company incorporated in France and headquartered in Cameroon;

Legal status: Sanctioned in the UK - designation RUS3498

What He Did

Ateba used Enangue Holdings to recruit foreign nationals - primarily Cameroonians - into the Alabuga Start Programme, a Russian recruitment scheme operating out of the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in the Republic of Tatarstan, approximately 800 km east of Moscow.

The UK Foreign Office, which sanctioned Ateba on May 5, 2026 as part of a package targeting 35 persons and entities, describes the Alabuga Start Programme as a scheme that "avails itself of deceptive practices to hire individuals, often from economically insecure backgrounds." Recruits are brought to Russia under the guise of employment or educational opportunity and put to work inside the Alabuga Special Economic Zone producing military drones - drones that are then "deployed as attack and reconnaissance vehicles in Ukraine," according to the UK government's statement of reasons.

Ateba openly promoted Alabuga Start through Enangue Holdings and publicly boasted of having paid the passport fees of more than 40 recruits. He claimed, without verification, that the Cameroonian government supported his activities.

He also promoted participation in a version of the Alabuga Start Programme framed as an educational exchange for young girls. Allegations reported in Cameroonian media suggest participants in this track also end up producing drones inside the Alabuga facility.

The UK's statement of reasons for his designation reads: "As Director and Chief Executive Officer of Enangue Holdings, an entity incorporated in France but headquartered in Cameroon, he has been involved in the recruitment of foreign nationals, largely from Cameroon, to join the Alabuga Start Programme. The Alabuga Start Programme is a recruitment scheme based in Russia which avails itself of deceptive practices to hire individuals, often from economically insecure backgrounds, to work in Russia's Alabuga Special Economic Zone in the Republic of Tatarstan. These individuals assist in the production of military drones within the Alabuga Special Economic Zone which are then deployed as attack and reconnaissance vehicles in Ukraine."

Enangue Holdings is one node in a broader recruitment ecosystem targeting Cameroon. On February 28, 2026, the Franco-Swiss investigative team INPACT documented the deaths of 94 Cameroonians who died fighting on behalf of Russia in Ukraine. Cameroonian recruits are typically promised high salaries and Russian citizenship upon completing their contracts. According to INPACT, most die within months of arriving at the front lines.

Efforts by journalists to reach Ateba for comment have been unsuccessful. He did not respond to requests from Cameroon News Agency.