A Quebec firearms company says an internal investigation has confirmed that its rifles were “fraudulent diverted” to Russia.
Cadex Defence said its “comprehensive” review found the shipments occurred without the company’s authorization or knowledge.
“Upon discovering this situation, Cadex fully cooperated with the competent Canadian authorities responsible for reviewing this matter,” it said.
“The company also strengthened its verification mechanisms, due diligence procedures, and control measures in order to further reduce the risks of fraudulent diversion within the international supply chain.”
The investigation was launched after Global News reported that Russian snipers were using Canadian-made Cadex rifles.
The precision firearms were also displayed at a Moscow gun show last October, and are for sale on the website of a gun shop in the Russian capital.
While some shown on Russian social media channels appeared to have been captured from Ukrainian troops, others looked brand new and still had product tags.
“Following the information brought to our attention at the time of the original publication of the article, Cadex immediately launched a comprehensive internal investigation to trace the origin and movement of the firearms in question,” the company said.
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“This process confirmed that certain firearms manufactured by Cadex appear to have been fraudulently diverted from their intended destination before ending up in Russia, without the authorization, knowledge, or consent of Cadex.”
Sanctions imposed in response to President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine prohibit the export of weapons to Russia.
But American, European and Canadian firearms have still found their way to Russia, allegedly through neighbouring countries, according to Russian investigative journalists.
“Cadex wishes to reaffirm unequivocally that at no time has the company sold, exported, or authorized the transfer of its products to the Russian Federation, directly or indirectly,” the company said in its statement.
The statement was a response to a Global News report this week that revealed Canadian intelligence officers had visited the company’s headquarters south of Montreal.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service met with Cadex Defence to brief the company on Russian procurement efforts, the company said.
“Cadex believes it has fully cooperated and communicated transparently with the relevant authorities,” the company said in its statement.
After Global News first reported on the issue last October, Foreign Minister Anita Anand told reporters she was looking into the matter.
The CSIS annual report released on May 1 said Russia was attempting to illicitly procure materials “to sustain its military-industrial complex and support its war against Ukraine.”
“Specifically, Russia sought to procure Canadian technology, such as microelectronics, satellite communication technology, and precision firearms.”
The report said CSIS was working with Canadian manufacturers “to identify how Canadian goods were being acquired and shipped to Russia.”
Our Canadian officials are always “looking into the matter”. GAWD!
You know it all had Trump’s approval! His best friends are Russian!
How about a little more followup? Who transshipped the guns?
It is not fraudulently but inefficiency and in competency of the company. Stupidity is the final answer
Hmmm. With DJTJ pic being friendly with American dealer is there even the slightest doubt where they will end up?
And so what? Roshel makes armoured vehicles for ICE in the USA, business is business!
It’s just funny that they are banning assault rifles in a country that makes them. Make it make sense! 😉
Hey, haters of Russia, at least the Russians aren’t mailing packages of SN to your kids and other family members. Unlike that other country our government are sending millions if not billions of our tax dollars to!
All is fair in love and war!
Odd the country they were intended for is not mentioned here? Why not? Perhaps they intended to ship to Belarus? Pretty hypocritical Canada is all about gun buy back program and here they are manufacturing assault rifles for abroad.
Canada’s defence industry should be deeply concerned by the this Global News story attempting to associate CADEX Defence with Russian forces allegedly using CADEX rifles in Ukraine. Not because the facts demonstrate wrongdoing by the company — they do not — but because the reporting risks playing directly into a broader and highly sophisticated Russian disinformation strategy aimed at undermining Western public support for Ukraine and eroding trust in NATO defence industries.
Russia has become exceptionally adept at information warfare. Beyond the battlefield, Moscow invests enormous effort into propaganda campaigns designed to manipulate Western audiences, fracture allied unity, and discredit the very companies supporting Ukraine’s defence. One increasingly common tactic is the showcasing of captured or illegally obtained Western military equipment and weapons in Russian hands for strategic media effect.
This is not new. Across Europe, Russian state actors and affiliated media channels routinely display captured NATO-supplied equipment, often stripped of context, to create outrage and confusion among domestic audiences in allied nations. The objective is simple: convince taxpayers and governments that their own industries are somehow complicit, corrupt, reckless, or profiting from war at the expense of Ukrainian lives.
The reality is far more straightforward. In every conflict in modern history, military equipment changes hands on the battlefield. Weapons are captured. Vehicles are seized. Ammunition stockpiles are overrun. None of this constitutes evidence that Western manufacturers are supporting Russia. It is a consequence of war.
There is no credible evidence suggesting CADEX Defence knowingly supplied products to Russia. In fact, the company has publicly stated the opposite and has a long-standing reputation as a professional Canadian manufacturer serving allied and lawful defence markets. To imply otherwise without substantive evidence risks unfairly damaging a Canadian company operating within strict export-control regimes.
More troubling is the broader editorial framing. At a time when Canada and NATO allies are attempting to strengthen sovereign defence manufacturing capabilities, media outlets should exercise greater caution before amplifying narratives that mirror hostile-state information operations. Journalism plays a critical role in democratic accountability, but it also carries a responsibility not to inadvertently become a conduit for adversarial propaganda.
Equally questionable was the decision to use what appeared to be a highly stylized and arguably sexist image of a young woman as the primary visual attached to the story. One must ask: what relevance did that image have to a serious discussion about Canadian defence exports, battlefield capture dynamics, and the war in Ukraine? The choice appeared designed more for sensationalism and click engagement than substantive journalism.
If the goal was to hold industry accountable, the reporting should have focused on export controls, procurement oversight, or battlefield diversion risks. Instead, the visual presentation trivialized a serious geopolitical issue while unfairly casting suspicion on a Canadian company without establishing meaningful evidence of misconduct.
Canada’s defence sector operates under some of the strictest regulatory frameworks in the world. Companies supporting allied militaries should absolutely be scrutinized when warranted. But scrutiny must be grounded in facts, context, and responsibility — not narratives that conveniently align with Russian strategic messaging objectives.
At a moment when authoritarian regimes are weaponizing information as aggressively as tanks and missiles, Western media organizations must remain vigilant about how their reporting may be exploited. Otherwise, they risk doing Moscow’s work for them.
This isn’t good enough! We need to be way better than this and demand better from our Weapon manu. companies. What a complete disgrace.
The right and there maga leader P.P. love Russia because DiaperDon told them too . P.P. plays right out of the magat playbook , bends the knee , kisses the ring , barks like a dog , whines about everything and hates Canadian values , wants to become the 51st state
One has to realize that our laws only apply to Canada. Same as the US, we can sanction all we want, but sovereign countries do not have to abide by any of our laws.
It is not treason, or even breaking any sanction law to sell weapons to a country in Africa, or Asia. What they do with them then, is entirely up to them. Our laws do not apply there.
Quit getting worked up. If it was not our weapons, it would be others. We should be happy that our weapons are making Canadians profit. (if we support making weapons for others).
I see, I can either slag another commenter or slag anyone other than the real true culprits now. Well, I think most of Canada see what is happening. I think we can all see who is complicit in this as well. Censorship tells a damning story. Media, you really need to put more lipstick on and bend over some more.
Hey. Hey fake name Leftist trolls . The guns all have serial numbers and they know who the went too first. Of course the great journalists won’t mention it.
These weapons should only be sold to 🇨🇦 to protect from the insane amount of immigrants which raised crime 10 fold.
Sounds like you have an enemy within the ranks… We call that Treason.
This is not the first time, rather. And yes, I still think it should be investigated by CSIS and RCMP.
This is it the first time firearms from this company have been discovered in the Russian Military, I believe there was a report about this sort of thing 3 years ago. I do believe this merits a criminal investigation.
“Sold to Russia by president z” I didn’t know bots could be that stupid, or Canadians this disgustingly traitorous treasonous gutless partisan parasitic and selfish. Stick your head in a woodchipper you loser. It’s people like you ruining every alliance and every form of cooperation on earth. Sht eating assworms
The Russian bot trash on this site is disgusting. Clean up your space. These guilty scams think they can get away with anything and you are helping them breed.
Americans gave them to the Russians.
The story is missing the key details of how and who was responsible. The company shipped them to some one or company. Reprinting releases is not top shelf journalism.
😆 little onlyfans reject is the face of this country’s defense contractors
I am sure Carney and Trudeau sent these direct into Ukraine and then they got captured by the Russians as they are far superior armed forces. Canada trying to deflect.
Yeah, sure. Pull the other one.
Send to Ukraine on our dollar sold to Russia by president Z. I called it last week but my comments kept getting censored
That gut felling this company is 🤥 lying.
Good thing you’ll never hear hunters losing their guns or “accidently misplacing” them. Sad excuses to go after rifle owners when rich companies are getting richer off of these wars. Cowards should be heavily fined and lose their licenses for good!!
I wonder what country the End User Certificate was issued from. That country is responsible for this scam.