Three Russian-linked individuals living in US and Canada charged with smuggling $10 million worth of electronics for Russian army

The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York charged a US citizen and two Russian-Canadian nationals with sanctions evasion and export control scheme in relation to their efforts to smuggle electronic components to Russia.

Source: statement released by the United States Attorney’s Office, as reported by European Pravda

Details: A criminal complaint was unsealed yesterday in Brooklyn charging Nikolay Goltsev, Salimdzhon Nasriddinov and Kristina Puzyreva, with conspiracy and other charges related to a global procurement scheme on behalf of sanctioned Russian entities, including companies affiliated with the Russian military. Nasriddinov, a Brooklyn resident and dual citizen of Russia and Tajikistan, was arrested in Brooklyn. Goltsev and Puzyreva were arrested at a hotel in Manhattan during a trip to New York to visit Nasriddinov.

The prosecutors are requesting that the defendants be taken into custody pending trial, as there is a threat of their escape.

Investigators believe that the three defendants used two legal entities registered in Brooklyn to illegally purchase and ship dual-use electronics to sanctioned firms in Russia.

According to the attorney’s office, Nasriddinov, Goltsev, and Puzyryova shipped more than 300 consignments of prohibited goods worth about US$10 million over the course of the past year, with a significant share going to Russian defence needs.

Some of the electronic components and integrated circuits that were imported into the Russian Federation were later found in Russian equipment on the battlefield in Ukraine, including the Torn-MDM intelligence system, the RB-301B Borisoglebsk-2 electronic warfare system, the Izdeliye 305E light multipurpose guided missile, Ka-52 helicopters, Orlan-10 drones, and T-72B3 battle tanks.

As part of the procurement scheme, Goltsev received orders from Russian firms to purchase goods in the United States, and then, using a pseudonym, communicated with American manufacturers and suppliers.

Nasriddinov and Goltsev then shipped the goods to intermediary firms in Türkiye, China, India, and the United Arab Emirates; they were transported to Russia from there. Puzyreva was in charge of managing bank accounts and carrying out financial transactions.

Previously: A court in the Netherlands sentenced 56-year-old Russian entrepreneur Dmitry K. to 18 months in prison and a €200,000 fine for supplying microcircuits to Russia in violation of sanctions.

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