Tradebreaker - December 2025

How ImportGenius shapes the news

This issue of Tradebreaker highlights November’s news stories from around the world featuring contributions from the ImportGenius research team. This month, ImportGenius data was used to: 

Identify India as a major source of fentanyl precursor chemicals, raising the ire of U.S. authorities. 

• Uncover the Chinese company that exported $25 million in gold from Nicaragua to Miami in just 8 months. 
• Reveal that the United States, despite its sabre-rattling and gunboat diplomacy with Venezuela, is the primary customer for that country’s fishery. 
• Show how Russian companies have skirted sanctions to maintain the country’s war effort against Ukraine.

Front-page headlines: This month’s top stories‍

India identified as a major source of fentanyl precursor chemicals

Trump’s Fentanyl Fight Sets Sights on India’s Pharma Industry - Bloomberg News - Dan Strumpf and Advait Palepu | Amid India’s rise as a global pharma giant, it has also become a major source of fentanyl precursor chemicals. ImportGenius data showed that, between 2019 and 2024,  more than a dozen Indian companies exported more than 27 metric tons of N-Boc-4-Piperidone, a fentanyl precursor. China, India’s top buyer, purchased 20 tons, while Mexican firms bought 5.8 tons. 

‍The hidden gold rush: from Nicaragua to Miami, via Beijing

Chinese company exported $25 million in Nicaraguan gold to Miami in 8 months - La Prensa | Using ImportGenius data, La Prensa — which currently operates in exile amid the rule of dictator Daniel Ortega — uncovered a series of 11 gold shipments from Nicaragua to Miami by the Chinese mining company Xinxin Linze Minería Group. This article was also the subject of a summary report in Breitbart. 

The recycling of batteries for the U.S. market is poisoning Nigerians

How We Linked the Auto Industry to Lead Poisoning - The New York Times - Will Fitzgibbon and Peter S. Goodman | Tests commissioned by the Times in Ogijo, Nigeria, a hub for car-battery recycling, showed that 7 in 10 residents had harmful levels of lead in their blood. The Times then used data from ImportGenius and others to track down the U.S.-based purchasers of Nigerian lead. The investigation was the Times’ front-page story for the Sunday edition on November 30. 

‍ImportGenius speaks at 2025 Global Investigative Journalism Conference

ImportGenius Director of Research William George was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last month to speak at the 2025 Global Investigative Journalism Conference. With interest in shipment-level trade data rising in the media, William gave a presentation to 2025 iMEdD fellows (via the Incubator for Media Education and Development) on how to use trade data for journalistic and public interest investigations. 

‍Business news: Tariffs, sanctions, trade restrictions and more

‍AI-enabled fitness gear falls flat with fickle shoppers 

Peloton’s New AI-Powered Bikes, Treadmills Get Off To Slow Start - Bloomberg News - Samantha Kelly | Mired in a post-pandemic revenue slump, Peloton developed a new line of exercise equipment with artificial intelligence features to personalize their users’ training and exercise plans. Sales have been sluggish since their introduction earlier this year, though ImportGenius data shows that the company increased its maritime imports this year in anticipation of strong sales. 

‍Amid tensions, America remains world’s top importer of Venezuelan fish 

The swordfish that pierces the sanctions - ArmandoInfo - Lisseth Boon | “Not all the merchandise collected in small fishing boats and shipped from the Venezuelan Caribbean to US markets triggers a military deployment,” begins this article in Venezuela’s top investigative publication. ImportGenius data helped uncover that nearly 75% of all Venezuelan fisheries exports have been destined for the United States since 2022 — though fishermen believe their catch is headed mostly for China. 

‍Nvidia changes quarterly financial reports 

Nvidia’s Lion Buy Omission - Financial Times - Louis Ashworth | After ImportGenius data was used to show how Nvidia could be skirting export controls by shipping AI chips to China via Singapore, this wry column chronicles the company’s shifting quarterly report data, omitting a key line item — “Geographic Revenue by Customer Billing Location” — from its latest financial results.

‍Investigations: Illicit and nefarious activity, exposed

‍India’s Zee Laboratories flagged for quality issues  

An Indian company struck gold by making vital drugs affordable. But there’s a catch - The Bureau of Investigative Journalism - Priyanka Pulla, Andjela Milivojevic and Paul Eccles | Zee Laboratories has become a global generic drug titan (as the company’s global export map, built with ImportGenius data, shows) while its quality record has gotten worse, with multiple test failures in the past 8 years. 

‍How Russia bypasses sanctions to get its oil to market

Shadow tankers of Tahir Garayev: Coral Energy and Bellatrix provide the Kremlin with a stable flow of oil money bypassing sanctions - Antikor | This report by Ukrainian anti-corruption investigators details how opportunistic dealers have stepped into the void left by western firms to bring Russian oil to international markets. ImportGenius data uncovered that one dealer — Bellatrix Energy, named for a Harry Potter villainess — traded materials from Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil and gas company, and others. 

‍Deadly Russian drones built with European machinery

Despite sanctions: Putin‘s war waged with European machinery  - Correctiv - Dylan Carter, Lilith Grull, Frida Thurm | Building upon a story we helped break in October, this story details how lethal Russian drones are being built with dual-use European machines and machine tools, an example of the continent’s unwitting assistance to the Kremlin. 

‍Canadian arms linked to brutal Sudanese paramilitary groups

Sudanese fighters accused of massacres use Canadian-made rifles  - CBC News - Shahad Elfaki, Ivan Angelovski, Jordan Pearson | Canada’s public broadcaster uncovered the use of Canadian-made Sterling Cross rifles in Sudan despite an arms embargo dating back 20 years — but could now trace how they got there because Canadian shipment data is not publicly available. As ImportGenius CEO Michael Kanko comments in the report, “Public awareness of corporate activity is essential in an informed society. Visibility for all stakeholders keeps companies accountable, and consumers safe.”