Estonian National Charged With Sending Sensitive US Tech to Russia
An Estonian national was extradited to the U.S. on Aug. 28 to face charges of conspiracy to violate U.S. export controls by sourcing U.S.-made electronics for use by the Russian government and military, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced. Andrey Shevlyakov faces 18 total counts related to the international procurement scheme.
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Shevlyakov allegedly engaged in a "years-long effort to evade U.S. export controls" by procuring and delivering hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of "sensitive U.S. technology to end-users in Russia." He was added to the Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List in 2012 (see 12100335), though he used a "series of shell companies to order electronics and other items from U.S.-based suppliers" to get around these prohibitions, the DOJ said. Shevlyakov also "misled" U.S. suppliers about the ultimate destination of the goods, the agency said.
The items acquired by Shevlyakov include "low-noise pre-scalers and synthesizers used to conduct high-frequency communications" and "analog-to-digital converters which are used in defense systems including avionics, missiles, and electronic warfare systems," DOJ said. He was caught smuggling goods into Russia by authorities in Finland, who found electronics and semiconductors "dispersed" in his car "among groceries and luggage and hidden in several other places, including the car’s spare tire compartment."
Shevlyakov faces up to 20 years in prison.