JOHANNESBURG – South African authorities have launched an investigation into allegations of human trafficking following reports that social media influencers promoted a Russian recruitment program to young women, officials announced Monday.
The investigation centers around the “Alabuga Start” program, which several high-profile South African influencers advertised to their millions of followers, targeting women aged 18 to 22 with promises of international careers, free flights, housing, and Russian language classes in Russia’s Tatarstan region.
However, an Associated Press investigation last year revealed disturbing allegations that women recruited into the program – many from African countries – were allegedly forced to work in factories assembling attack drones used in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“This matter is under investigation,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Chrispin Phiri told AFP, confirming the government’s response to the growing concerns.
The Ministry for Women and Youth expressed “grave concern over recent reports of alleged job offers circulating on social media that target young South African women aged 18 to 22 for employment opportunities in Russia.”
“We urge our young people to be vigilant,” the ministry stated, highlighting the potential dangers facing vulnerable youth seeking overseas employment opportunities.
In promotional videos that have since been deleted, female influencers were seen touring facilities they identified as the program’s headquarters in the Alabuga special economic zone near Yelabuga.
“Apparently girls are being treated fairly here – Africans, Asians, Latin Americans,” one influencer told her more than two million followers in a video that has since been removed from social media platforms.
Foreign Ministry head of public diplomacy Clayson Monyela drew parallels to other international scamming operations, describing the situation as human trafficking.
“Human trafficking syndicates are luring young people into all sorts of illegal activities under slave-like conditions,” Monyela told Radio 702. “So it is basically human trafficking because you essentially lose your freedom.”
The investigation comes just months after South Africa repatriated 23 citizens from Myanmar in March, where they had been rescued from online scam centers that allegedly held thousands of people from multiple countries under false promises of high-paying jobs.
Officials have not disclosed how many South African women may have already participated in the Russian program or their current status.
The case highlights growing concerns about the exploitation of young Africans seeking economic opportunities abroad, particularly through social media recruitment campaigns that target vulnerable populations with misleading promises of prosperity.
