DOJ Charges Russian-German National With Export Control Violations, Smuggling
DOJ last week charged Russian-German national Arthur Petrov in a scheme to violate U.S. export controls against Russia and deliver controlled electronic components to the country’s military. The indictment -- announced alongside a temporary denial order issued by the Commerce Department against Petrov, two co-conspirators and four companies -- said Petrov worked to illegally procure more than $250,000 worth of controlled items from U.S. exporters.
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The indictment was announced by the Commerce- and DOJ-led Disruptive Technology Strike Force, the second enforcement action by the group, which in May charged six people for trying to illegally send sensitive items to Russia, Iran and China (see 2305160086). Matthew Olsen, DOJ’s assistant attorney general for national security, said the agency “will not tolerate efforts to circumvent our export control laws to fuel the Russian war machine and those who try will find no refuge from U.S. justice.”
DOJ said Petrov worked with others to procure “large quantities” of American-made and export-controlled microelectronics for Electrocom VPK, a Russian supplier of “critical electronics components” to the country’s military. Petrov used Cyprus-based shell company Astrafteros to buy the items, telling the U.S. companies they would be used for fire security systems in Cyprus, Latvia or Tajikistan. DOJ said Petrov knew the shipments were illegal, adding that the U.S. distributors provided him with invoices that “expressly noted” the microcontrollers and integrated circuits were subject to export controls.
Petrov and others tried to hide the shipments through shell companies and other “deceptive means,” the agency said, including by first shipping the parts to “pass-through entities” in third countries. “At all times,” DOJ said, Petrov and others “concealed from the U.S. distributors that they were procuring the controlled electronics components on behalf of Electrocom and that the items were destined for Russia.”
DOJ charged Petrov, who is awaiting extradition in Cyprus, with a range of export control violations, smuggling, wire fraud and money laundering offenses. He faces a maximum five-year prison sentence for one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S.; a 20-year sentence for one count of conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act; a 20-year sentence for each of the three counts of violating ECRA; a five-year sentence for one count of conspiracy to smuggle goods from the U.S.; a 10-year sentence for each of the three counts of smuggling goods from the U.S.; a 20-year sentence for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and another 20-year sentence for one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Commerce’s temporary denial order also targets Russian nationals Zhanna Soldatenkova and Ruslan Almetov as well as Latvian distributor Ultra Trade Service and Tajikistan shell company Juzhoi Electronic for being involved in the scheme. None were named in the DOJ's complaint.