The US sanctions a Bulgarian-based company linked to Russia

The US Treasury has sanctioned the Bulgarian-registered company Freshvale for selling weapons to an unspecified African country. The company and its owner, Ariel Israilov, were included in a wide-ranging new US list of companies that violate sanctions against Russia.

According to the US Treasury statement, the Bulgarian-based company sold Russian military drones to an unspecified African country and operated in the Russian military sector. The sanctions effectively bar US companies from doing business with the company in question and freeze its US assets, if it has any.

What kind of company is it?

A check in the Bulgarian Commercial Register shows that Freshvale was established in March 2018 with headquarters in Plovdiv, which was subsequently moved to Sofia. Its subject of activity concerns "products and services for the security sector and all activities not prohibited by law according to Bulgarian legislation".

The company was founded with a capital of 2 levs (1 euro). It has released three financial reports - for 2020, 2021 and 2022. For the first year, the company reported a profit of 133,000 euros, and its net sales revenue amounted to 445,000 euros. The following year, its profit grew to 430,000 euros, and the net income from sales - to 1.35 million euros. In 2022, when Vladimir Putin started his war in Ukraine, its profit grew to 1.3 million BGN, and the net income from sales - up to nearly 3.5 million euros.

There is no published report for the year 2023.

From the website of the sanctioned company, it is clear that it specializes in the production of drones and anti-eavesdropping devices. Its target markets are located in Africa and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).

Who is the owner?

The company's founder and actual owner is 47-year-old Ariel Israilov. According to documents in the Commercial Register, he is an Austrian citizen with a permanent address in Russia. On LinkedIn, he describes himself as a serial entrepreneur.

According to a reference on the Mini Apps platform, he holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the Finanz Akademie in Vienna.

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov