U.S. authorities arrested a trio in New York late final month on allegations that the three operated a scheme to route tens of millions of {dollars} price of semiconductors, built-in circuits, and different dual-use digital elements to Russia by way of entrance firms in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn resident and twin Tajik-Russian citizen Salimdzhon Nasriddinov, 52, and married Russian couple Nikolay Goltsev, 37, and Kristina Puzyreva, 32, of Montreal, Canada, had been arrested on October 31 on conspiracy and different expenses associated to sanctions evasion and violation of U.S. export controls.
In a press release outlining the allegations, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace mentioned, “As alleged, the defendants evaded sanctions, shipping equipment to Russia vital for their precision-guided weapons systems, some of which has been used on the battlefield in Ukraine.”
The scheme outlined by U.S. officers focuses on two company entities registered in Brooklyn, SH Brothers Inc. and SN Electronics, via which the accused allegedly bought and shipped roughly $7 million in dual-use electronics – by way of round 300 shipments – to sanctioned finish customers in Russia.
As alleged within the felony grievance, Goltsev obtained orders from Russian finish customers within the protection and know-how sectors for particular elements or objects. He then would contact producers, normally below an alias. Goltsev and Nasriddinov would then buy the objects by way of SH Brothers Inc. and SN Electronics and have them shipped to Brooklyn. The objects had been then shipped to varied intermediaries in locations like Turkey, Hong Kong, India, China, and the United Arab Emirates, the place they had been rerouted to Russia.
According to a Department of Justice press launch:
[S]ome of the digital parts and built-in circuits with the identical make, mannequin and half quantity shipped by the defendants via SH Brothers have been present in seized Russian weapons platforms and alerts intelligence gear in Ukraine, together with the Torn-MDM radio reconnaissance complicated, the RB-301B “Borisoglebsk-2” digital warfare complicated, the Izdeliye 305E gentle multi-purpose guided missile, the Vitebsk L370 airborne counter missile system, Ka-52 helicopters, Orlan-10 unmanned aerial automobiles (UAVs) and T-72B3 battle tanks.
In the grievance, U.S. authorities define a sequence of messages that serve to recommend that the accused knew that the electronics they had been exporting had navy purposes.
In one alternate in November 2022, Goltsev commented that delivery to Russia had develop into “dangerous.” He mentioned a cargo that had been detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens. Nasriddinov , in accordance with the grievance, responded that “Ukrainians alleged that they’re being bombed from parts from there [the U.S. manufacturer], maybe that’s why they started investigating everything?”
In a February 23, 2023 message, Nasriddinov wished Goltsev, “Happy Defender of the Fatherland Day!” To which Goltsev replied, “happy holiday to you too my friend, we are defending it in the way that we can [smile emoji].”
The day after the three had been arrested, one other indictment was unsealed in opposition to a unique trio, together with one Brooklyn resident who was arrested and two Russians that stay at massive, for exporting dual-use electronics used finally in Russian navy drones.
RFE/RL’s Tajik Service, often called Radio Ozodi, dug into Nasriddinov’s background. Radio Ozodi reported that Nasriddinov is considered a profitable businessman among the many Tajik diaspora within the United States and in 2021 established a company with different Tajik immigrants to assist the neighborhood and train the Tajik language to its youngsters. He reportedly has ties to a restaurant in Brooklyn.
Radio Ozodi discovered a 2019 picture on Nasriddinov’s Facebook web page depicting him shaking arms with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and receiving a meritorious service medal for his contribution to the development of the Rogun hydropower plant. It seems that he aided within the acquisition of kit for the dam venture.
The path of assorted digital elements from U.S. producers to Brooklyn to the battlefields of Ukraine illustrates the pernicious nature of sanctions evasion. There’s cash to be made in breaking legal guidelines, but it surely’s clear from the pair of indictments famous on this article that U.S. authorities are watching carefully.
Source web site: thediplomat.com
