From Russia to Belarus — and back. A new route for Lithuanian GPS trackers

This investigation was conducted with the assistance of the Rabochy Ruch initiative and in partnership with the Siena Center for Investigative Journalism.

Teltonika leaves, but the electronics remain

“We work with Teltonika [products]. We do have Teltonika,” said an employee of BelTransSputnik, a Belarusian company that describes itself as an IT company specializing in transportation management. A BIC journalist spoke with him, posing as a potential buyer.

The Teltonika Group, a Lithuanian technology giant, manufactures GPS trackers, sensors, and other transportation monitoring systems. In August 2023, the EU banned the export of radio navigation aid apparatus to Belarus “in view of the situation in Belarus and the involvement of Belarus in the Russian aggression against Ukraine.” However, a company employee told a BIC journalist that BelTransSputnik continues to work with Teltonika products. He clarified that they now work with these products only when customers place an order, and in smaller volumes than before.

“Teltonika is the equipment we typically install on tractor units when they’re used for international transport, and the customer needs to connect it to the tachograph [a device that records the vehicle’s speed, mileage, driver’s working hours, and other data — ed. note].”

BelTransSputnik holds a Belarusian declaration of conformity for Teltonika FMC series vehicle trackers, which are capable of operating on 4G networks. The declaration is valid from 2025 to 2030. This is despite Teltonika’s announcement of its withdrawal from the Belarusian and Russian markets following the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine. In an interview with the Lithuanian television company LRT, the brand’s founder, Arvydas Paukštys, said that the company severed ties with customers in those countries and introduced technological restrictions into new models so that they could not operate within their territories. However, during a conversation with a BIC journalist, the BelTransSputnik employee said that the company has no difficulty servicing the equipment in Belarus.

“The problem with Teltonika in Belarus isn’t servicing it — we can and do service it. Most of [our] clients use it. The problem is getting supplies.”

Apparently, BelTransSputnik is resolving its supply issues by no longer buying goods directly from the European neighbours. Until at least February 2025, the company’s trackers were supplied by the Russian firm Laboratoriya Interneta Veshchei. In September 2023, that company received Teltonika-branded electronics from Sinalex, a Hong Kong-based company.

Sinalex was previously mentioned in an investigation by Lithuanian television broadcaster LRT regarding the shipment of Teltonika products to Russia. Journalists named the Turkish companies Aavat Endustri̇yel Si̇stemleri̇ and Olimpik Gama Logistics, among other suppliers. However, in a comment to LRT, the manufacturer did not rule out the possibility of illegal use of its brand on products manufactured by other companies.

A return trip to Russia

BelTransSputnik not only purchases Teltonika-branded equipment in Russia but also supplies the brand’s devices to the Russian market itself. From March 2023 to March 2025, the Belarusian company sold a total of 345 Teltonika GPS controllers and vehicle trackers for a total of more than $100,000. All shipments were received by Evrosvyaz, a Smolensk-based company with two employees.

At the same time, the price at which BelTransSputnik supplied some equipment models to Russia may have been roughly twice the cost of purchasing the same models in Russia. For instance, in March 2025, Evrosvyaz spent $17,677 on 45 Teltonika FMC650 trackers, amounting to about $393 per device. The previous month, BelTransSputnik purchased the same model of tracker for $186 each. A year and a half later, devices of this model can be purchased for about $145 each on European marketplaces. [*] [*]

This trade is taking place amid sanctions that target not only Belarus. Following the outbreak of a full-scale war in Ukraine, the European Union banned the export of radio navigation equipment to Russia, which is often essential for logistics. Similar restrictions were introduced by the United States and the United Kingdom in 2024.

Frederic Bruneteau, managing director of the Ptolemus consulting group, which specializes in telematics technologies, told the BIC that the reason GPS trackers and radio navigation equipment in general ended up on sanctions lists may be their potential for military use.

“[A GPS device] is [suitable] for any moving vehicle, or you can even put that in a handbag. It’s basically used to position anything: it can be a container, it can be a truck, it can be a car, it can be a tank, it can be a bicycle. It can be used anywhere. Of course, you could use it in a drone.”

Before and after the call with the BIC

BelTransSputnik is not the only company that sells Teltonika products in Belarus. Vissen, a small company that specializes in transport monitoring and equipping vehicles with electronic modules, also offers the brand’s equipment.

In early August this year, Vissen described itself on its website as an official Gold Partner of Teltonika Telematics, one of the companies in the Teltonika Group. After sending a press inquiry to the company, we noticed that the description had changed. A clarification stating that Vissen had been a partner of the Lithuanian company only until the end of 2022 appeared on the page. According to the current website description, this allows Vissen tosale and installation of Teltonika navigation terminals, as well as their configuration, diagnosis, and warranty and post-warranty repair.

At the same time, we found evidence suggesting that Vissen continued to work with Teltonika products after 2022. The Belarusian company’s website still showcases the brand’s equipment. In September 2023, the State Authority for Military Industry of Belarus registered four Teltonika GPS tracker models as navigation resources. The registration documents list Vissen as the resource owner and Teltonika Telematics as the device manufacturer.

According to the company’s import data, Vissen imported approximately 1,770 trackers manufactured by Teltonika Telematics into Belarus in 2022–2023. The company obtained Belarusian declarations of conformity for these devices. The BIC was unable to determine where exactly the equipment had been supplied to Belarus from.

Trading despite the ban

Belarus and Russia could replace European trackers with Russian or Chinese analogs, but it is important to consider whether such alternatives are compatible with thesoftware used by a particular company. Anton Tananaev, the lead developer of the Traccar GPS tracking platform, told BIC that although most platforms support devices from Russia and China, Teltonika electronics have their own advantages.

“Teltonika devices are generally considered more reliable. In terms of capabilities, comparable substitutes do exist, but they won’t be as cheap. Very low-cost Chinese devices are usually quite limited in functionality and definitely less reliable.”

Teltonika product shipments are part of the larger flow of Western radio navigation electronics being sent from Belarus to Russia. According to our data, from January 2022 through June 2025, Belarusian companies shipped over $400,000 worth of Western-made GPS controllers, trackers, navigation systems, and other equipment to Russia. These included both new and used goods. These shipments do not all necessarily indicate sanctions evasion. Bans imposed by different countries were introduced at different times and applied to different categories of equipment.

The BIC sent inquiries to BelTransSputnik, Vissen, Sinalex, and the Teltonika Group, as well as to the heads of Laboratoriya Interneta Veshchei and Evrosvyaz. At the time of publication, we had not yet received any responses.