The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced that two Russians, Zhanna Soldatenkova and Ruslan Almetov, were charged alongside Artur Petrov (who holds citizenship of the Russian Federation and Germany), with violating export controls, smuggling, fraud, and money laundering.
According to the Attorney’s office, the Russians were involved in a scheme to acquire microelectronics from the United States subject to U.S export controls for a supplier to Russian military enterprises. Technologies that the defendants acquired from the United States include various types of electronic components found in Russian military equipment used on the battlefield in Ukraine, including Russian missiles, drones, and electronic warfare equipment.
Petrov was arrested on August 26th, 2023, in the Republic of Cyprus, at the request of the United States, and was extradited to the United States earlier this year. Soldatenkov and Almetev are still at large.
The Attorney’s Office believes that Petrov, Soldatenkov and Almetov were working for the Russian company LLC Electrocom VPK, which supplies electronic components to weapons manufacturers. To do this, the company’s accomplices bought components in the USA using shell companies, including Astrafteros Technokosmos Ltd.
If the Russians are found guilty in court, they could face up to 160 years’ imprisonment.
