News
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on the Russian tech firm AEZA Group and affiliated entities for supporting the pro-Kremlin disinformation network known as Doppelgänger, according to a recent announcement by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The sanctioned entities and persons include:
- AEZA GROUP LLC (St. Petersburg)
- AEZA INTERNATIONAL LTD (UK)
- AEZA LOGISTIC LLC (St. Petersburg)
- Cloud Solutions LLC (Samara)
- Yurii Meruzhanovich Bozoyan
- Vladimir Vyacheslavovich Gast
- Igor Anatolyevich Knyazev
- Arsenii Alexandrovich Penzev
In April 2025, Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court ordered the detention of AEZA Group CEO Yurii Bozoyan along with employees Maksim Orlov and Tatyana Zubova. The arrests were made in connection with charges of involvement in a criminal group and attempted large-scale drug trafficking.
Registered in St. Petersburg, AEZA plays a central role in hosting the infrastructure used by the Doppelgänger disinformation network, which has been active across Europe and Russia since May 2022. AEZA’s servers have been linked to well-known malware operations including Lumma and Meduza, according to cybersecurity researchers.
Doppelgänger is designed to advance Kremlin interests and undermine Western unity. The network replicates websites of major outlets including Der Spiegel and The Guardian in order to spread fake news and propaganda. To disguise its origins, the network has registered dozens of shell companies in the UK — including AEZA International LTD, AEZA’s British subsidiary.