Two Americans were arrested in Kansas City on Thursday for an alleged scheme to send aviation-related technology to Russia in violation of US ex-port controls.
Cyril Buyanovsky, 59, and Douglas Robertson, 55, are accused of conspiring to circumvent US export laws by selling avionics to customers around the world that operate Russian-built aircraft, accord-ing to an indictment unsealed in US District Court in Kansas.
The pair repaired and shipped technology from their firm, KanRus Trading Company, submitting false export information, such as a fraudulent invoice that showed Germany as the end destination for repaired equipment bearing a sticker for Russia’s Federal Security Services (FSB).
On February 28, 2022, after US authorities de-tained a shipment of avionics, the US Commerce Department told the men they needed a license to export the equipment, the Justice Department said in a statement. In May, June and July, they illegally shipped the electronics through Armenia and Cyprus.
The defendants are charged with conspiracy, exporting controlled goods without a license, falsi-fying and failing to file export information, and smuggling goods contrary to US law. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison for each count of smuggling.
Buyonovsky and Robinson could not immedi-ately be reached for comment. Avionics includes communications, navigation, flight control and threat detection systems installed in aircraft.
US Commerce official Matthew Axelrod dis-closed the arrests earlier on Thursday at an American Bar Association event in Miami.—AFP
