Three Russian nationals were arrested Tuesday in New York for evading U.S. sanctions on the shipping of dual-use electronic components to Russia.
Nikolay Golstev, 37, and his wife, Kristina Puzyreva, 32 — both Russian-Canadian citizens — were arrested along with their alleged partner Salimdzhon Nariddinov, 52, who has Russian-Tajik citizenship.
The trio is accused of evading sanctions by sending “over 300 shipments of restricted items, valued at approximately $10 million, to the Russian battlefield,” according to Ivan Arvelo, special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The federal prosecutor’s office for the Eastern District of New York said that “more than $1.1 million in proceeds” had also been seized Tuesday from domestic bank accounts.
Components linked to the group’s two Brooklyn-based companies “have been found in seized Russian weapons platforms and signals intelligence equipment in Ukraine,” including guided missile systems, drones, tanks and helicopters, the Department of Justice said in a statement announcing the charges.
“These entities unlawfully sourced, purchased and shipped millions of dollars in dual-use electronics from U.S. manufacturers to sanctioned end users in Russia,” the statement said.
“The defendants were aware that the electronics being exported had potential military applications,” it added, describing the alleged plot as “a global procurement scheme on behalf of sanctioned Russian entities, including companies affiliated with the Russian military.”
The three defendants were taken into custody at the end of their arraignment, at the request of federal prosecutors, without yet entering a plea.