Dual U.S. and Russian citizen, Vadim Yermolenko, was sentenced to 30 months in prison in the United States for violating sanctions.
He was involved in a transnational arms trafficking and money laundering network, and was required to pay $75,547 as part of his sentence. Yermolenko admitted his guilt in November 2024.
The court documents state that he was associated with two Russian companies, Serniya Engineering and Sertal. These companies operated a network of shell companies worldwide, including in the US.
“The defendant and his co-conspirators unlawfully purchased and exported highly sensitive, export controlled electronic components, some of which can be used in the development of nuclear and hypersonic weapons, quantum computing, and other military applications,” stated the US Department of Justice.
One of the shipments involved money from one of the defendant’s accounts being used to purchase sniper cartridges subject to export controls. The shipment of cartridges was intercepted before they could be smuggled into Russia in Estonia.
Yermolenko’s accomplices, Nikolaos Bogonikolos and Alexey Brayman, in the United States also pleaded guilty. The former was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
