Five citizens of the Russian Federation and two Americans were charged with conspiring to obtain military technology, as well as exporting ammunition to evade sanctions.
US authorities have charged five Russian citizens and two US citizens with organizing the smuggling of electronic components for the Russian defense industry and munitions in evading sanctions. This was announced on December 13 by the press service of the country’s Ministry of Justice.
In total, a group of seven people were charged with 16 counts, including fraud, criminal conspiracy, smuggling, money laundering and violation of sanctions. Each of them could face up to 30 years in prison.
According to the indictment, the defendants illegally purchased and exported electronic components, some of which could be used in the development of nuclear and hypersonic weapons.
“The Defendants set up a complex procurement network that illegally obtained secret American technology to aid the Russian military machine,” said Breon Peace, Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
The indictment includes US citizens Alexei Braiman and Vadim Yermolenko, Russians Evgeny Grinin, Alexei Ippolitov, Boris Livshits, Svetlana Skvortsova and Vadim Konoshchenko.
At the same time, it is suspected that Konoshchenko is an FSB officer. According to the agency, the man was smuggling goods of American origin from Estonia to Russia, including dual-use electronics and military ammunition subject to export control.
Estonian authorities arrested him at the request of the US and will extradite him.
As specified in the US Department of Justice, the defendants carried out their activities in the interests of Moscow companies Sernia Engineering and Sertal. These companies, according to Washington, “under the leadership of Russian intelligence agencies, purchased advanced electronics and sophisticated test equipment for the Russian military-industrial complex and the scientific research sector.”
One of the accused US residents has been arrested, the other has surrendered to authorities.
Recall that after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western countries imposed a number of restrictions on the Russian Federation, including a ban on the supply of parts and technology that could be used in the manufacture of weapons.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.