Izovac, a Belarussian enterprise that specializes in vacuum deposition technology, has had a longstanding partnership with leading global technology corporations such as Apple, Tesla, and Samsung.

However, an investigation conducted by the Belarusian Investigative Center (BIC), in collaboration with C4ADS, IStories, 15min.lt, and Skhemy with support from Cyberpartisans, revealed that Izovac and its affiliates have also provided approximately $200 million in equipment to Russian defense firms since the onset of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Founded in 1992 by the Minsk Radiotechnical Institute and several alumni, Izovac originally emerged as a research and technical company. Over the years, it developed into a prominent manufacturer of vacuum deposition systems essential for the creation of touchscreen displays.

The technology produced by Izovac was vital in the making of the first iMacs, and a report from the World Bank indicated that around half of the touchscreen displays for the iPhone and iPad were initially created using Izovac’s equipment.

“When you touch your phone and it detects where your finger pressed, it’s this touchscreen, specifically this trace— which contains Izovac’s technology,” explained Vitali Khomich, the company’s deputy director, in an interview four years prior.

By 2020, Izovac captured roughly 20% of the global market share for vacuum deposition equipment aimed at touchscreen manufacturing, servicing major brands that included Tesla, Samsung, LG, and Sharp, alongside Apple.

Eventually, Izovac shifted towards assembling production lines for its clientele, diversifying its structure by developing technologies before spinning them off into independent enterprises.

Among these subsidiaries is Izotek-M, a Belarusian firm focusing on mechanical processing and optical components manufacturing. BIC’s investigation into Belarus’s murky business dealings notably begins with Izotek-M.

Through this entity, Izovac is alleged to have sold a used plasma etching system from the U.S. brand Applied Materials to NM-Tech, a Russian firm involved in the defense sector. Plasma etching systems are critical for the manufacture of microchips, which are essential yet limited components in Russia’s military technologies.

This transaction reportedly evaded U.S. export regulations and breached sanctions imposed by both the U.S. and the European Union.

“U.S. sanctions and export control regulations include used items,” stated Richard Nephew, a senior research scholar at Columbia University, to BIC. “[They] include items regardless of whether they are transiting through intermediaries or are sent directly from American companies. U.S. firms are obligated to verify that the end users are legitimate.”

Further inquiries tracked the equipment’s transfer through intermediaries in Taiwan and China, ultimately arriving at NM-Tech.

The BIC also uncovered that Inzhiniring Grupp, a Russian company with more than 30 defense-related clients—many of which are under Western sanctions—played a role in facilitating these sales. The head of Inzhiniring Grupp, Sergei Yanovich, has previous ties to Izovac.

Additionally, BIC identified at least 30 Russian military-industrial organizations linked to two other subsidiaries of Izovac, InterNanoTechnologii and Izovac itself. Of these, twenty-two are subjected to Western sanctions.

Between 2022 and 2024, these two Belarusian companies supplied nearly $10 million worth of goods to their wartime associates, with customs data indicating that the majority of the supplied components were labeled as originating from Belarus.

The equipment provided by Izovac and InterNanoTechnologii to Russian entities significantly contributes to military production, noted Olena Bilousova, an expert from the Kyiv School of Economics, in discussions with BIC and the Skhemy project.

“Providing this type of equipment is prohibited. It’s crucial because access to such purchases enables Russia to enhance its military capabilities, allowing for increased production and the acquisition of new technology necessary for weapon manufacturing,” Bilousova explained. “The dual-use nature of this equipment is precarious as there are very few non-military uses for such specialized machinery.”

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Izovac’s earnings have experienced exponential growth, doubling each year: from 13 million Belarusian rubles ($5.1 million) in 2021 to 27 million ($10.3 million) in 2022, and reaching 53 million ($17.7 million) in 2023. By 2024, revenues surged by 36% to 72 million ($22.2 million).

BIC estimates that within the Izovac group, contracts valued around $200 million have been secured with Russian military enterprises.

These deals involve the provision of essential equipment for the manufacturing of precision weaponry, including components for Kalibr cruise missiles.

Despite its Belarusian origins, Izovac operates in the European Union through I-Photonics, a Lithuanian company.

Lithuanian authorities previously froze 1.2 million euros in I-Photonics’ accounts stemming from transactions with a company associated with Sergei Chemezov, the head of Russia’s state defense conglomerate Rostec and a close associate of President Vladimir Putin.

The BIC’s investigation uncovered that key figures associated with I-Photonics had prior affiliations with Izovac, raising alarms about the company’s operations within Europe.

Lithuania possesses frameworks that oversee firms linked to Belarus and Russia claiming independence, but these systems may need revisions, according to Laurynas Kasčiūnas, the vice-chairman of the Lithuanian Seimas’ National Security and Defense Committee.

“They should be reassessed to determine if such a company can function in Lithuania at all—especially in light of its connections to the Russian defense sector. I will certainly use my role as a parliament member to engage with the relevant institutions to scrutinize whether this company should be allowed to operate in Lithuania,” he stated.

The BIC reached out to Izovac’s international clients, as well as to the companies within the group and their proprietors for comments. As of the publication of this investigation, no responses had been received. Both Vladimir Shiripov, a co-founder of Izovac, and Sergei Yanovich from Inzhiniring Grupp, declined to comment to the BIC.

This is a condensed version of an investigation by the Belarusian Investigative Center.