Russia’s war in Ukraine is reportedly being fueled by a $33billion American company founded by Memphis Grizzlies owner Robert Pera, with its technology said to have potentially ‘enabled crimes against humanity.’
That is according to a stunning new investigation, which claims that ‘tens of thousands’ of devices made by WiFi giant Ubiquiti could have ended up in Russia since the invasion in 2022. They are said to be ‘powering Russian battlefield communications.’
Pera, 47, founded Ubiquiti in October 2003 and turned it into a company worth more than $30billion. Less than a decade later, Pera became the NBA’s youngest owner when he took over the Grizzlies.
According to Hunterbrook Media, Ubiquiti ‘wireless bridges’ – which connect two parts of a network – are ‘widely used’ by Russian forces in their battle with Ukraine. US and EU sanctions restrict the export of the equipment to Russia, but there is no indication that Ubiquiti directly sold any products to Russia.
‘What we found is that the Ubiquiti radio bridge antennae serve critical communication needs for the Russian military,” Hunterbrook investigative reporter Sam Koppelman told Pablo Torre Finds Out.
‘Experts told us this technology enables precision drone strikes against Ukrainian civilians, the types of attacks the United Nations has described as crimes against humanity.’
Russia’s war in Ukraine is being fueled by a company founded by Memphis Grizzlies owner Robert Pera, according to stunning new claims
Russian and Ukrainian forces have been at war since Vladimir Putin’s invasion in 2022
Pera became the NBA’s youngest owner when he took over the Grizzlies back in 2012
He cited a Ukrainian officer, who claimed the enemy would be ‘flying blind’ without ‘these systems.’ They also said Russian forces have ‘no alternative.’
Hunterbrook released images of drone footage which purported to show antennae carrying the Ubiquiti logo ‘mounted at Russian positions.’
The outlet even revealed letters – said to be from the Russian military and its supporters – explaining how ‘necessary’ the bridges had become, while screenshots purported to show Russian forces requesting Ubiquiti equipment on Telegram.
As part of the bombshell investigation, Hunterbrook claims to have posed as a Russian customer who contacted ‘Ubiquiti’s official distributors’ in places including the US.
It’s claimed that one Ohio-based distributor, Multilink Solutions, initially agreed to ship products to Russia, ‘before clarifying that the product would be shipped to a different country – in this case, Turkey – for pickup.’
Data, mined by Hunterbrook, suggested that while Ubiquiti stopped shipping directly to Russia in 2022, ‘dozens of exporters in countries like Turkey and Kazakhstan sprang up to take Ubiquiti’s place and continue the flow of Ubiquiti shipments to Russia.’ It’s claimed millions of dollars worth of equipment has made its way across the border.
Back in 2014, Ubiquiti agreed to pay $504,225 after the Office of Foreign Assets Control accused the company of ‘reckless disregard for US sanctions.’ That came after its products reportedly ended up in Iran. ‘It can’t happen again,’ Pera said at the time. ‘If it does, I’ll be in a lot of trouble.’
Amid these alleged links to Russia, Hunterbrook cites legal experts who warn the company could face ‘export bans’ or possible ‘potential human-rights litigation tied to civilian harm enabled by this technology.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Ubiquiti, Multilink Solutions, the Memphis Grizzlies and the NBA for comment.
