Authorities in the US indicted five Russians on Wednesday (October 19) for smuggling American electronic components to arm makers in Russia. Some of these components have been found on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Separately, three Latvians and a Ukrainian were charged for attempting to send a US-made high-precision industrial grinder to Russia. US Justice Department said that the grinder can be used by arms makers or in a nuclear weapons programme.
The department said the two smuggling networks involved front companies in multiple countries including Dubai and Germany. The networks were designed to evade US and global sanctions on Russia.
The first scheme involved buying sensitive technologies from US manufacturers like advanced semiconductors and microprocessors that are used in fighter aircraft, missile systems, smart munition, radar and satellites.
The Justice Department said Dubai-based Russian Yury Orekhov, Artem Uss, the son of a regional Russian governor, and the three others used a Hamburg, Germany-based firm for the operation, shipping some of the technology to Russian defence companies that are under US sanctions.
It said, for example, that Orekhov had travelled to the United States in 2019 to source parts that were used in the Russian-made Sukhoi fighter aircraft.
“Some of the types of electronic components obtained through the criminal scheme have been found in Russian weapons platforms seized on the battlefield in Ukraine,” the Justice Department said.
In the second instance, the four arranged the purchase of a jig grinder made in the US state of Connecticut ostensibly for the European market, but sought to ship it to Russia. The grinder was intercepted by Latvian authorities.
(With inputs from agencies)
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