A RUSSIAN-CANADIAN man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for admitting to shipping millions of dollars' worth of US-made restricted electronics to Russia, reports United Press International.
Some of these components were found in weapons and equipment used by Kremlin forces in Ukraine.
Nikolay Goltsev, 38, of Montreal, Canada, was arrested in a New York hotel room in 2023, where authorities seized some US$20,000 in connection to his sanctions evasion scheme. In July, he pleaded guilty along with co-defendant Salimdzhon Nasriddinov to conspiracy to commit export control violations.
Goltsev's wife, Kristina Puzyreva, pleaded guilty in February for her role in laundering money as part of the multimillion-dollar sanctions-evasion scheme and was sentenced to two years in July.
In announcing the 40-month sentence, the Department of Justice called Goltsev the 'mastermind' of the global procurement scheme on behalf of sanctioned Russian companies.
According to court documents, Goltsev received component orders from Russian defense and technology companies and fulfilled them with US manufacturers through SH Brothers Inc and SN Electronics Inc, two Brooklyn companies he controlled.
Once received, the components were illegally shipped to front companies located in Turkey, Hong Kong, India, China and the United Arab Emirates, where they were redirected to Russia.
Prosecutors said SH Brothers alone made hundreds of shipments valued at more than $7 million.
Some of the components shipped have been discovered in seized Russian weapons and intelligence equipment in Ukraine, according to federal prosecutors, who said some were critical to Russia's precision-guided weapon systems.
Text message communication between Goltsev and Puzyreva from May 2023, presented by prosecutors, showed that they were aware their actions were in violation of sanctions and that the components they were shipping Russia would be used against Ukraine.
SeaNews Turkey
Some of these components were found in weapons and equipment used by Kremlin forces in Ukraine.
Nikolay Goltsev, 38, of Montreal, Canada, was arrested in a New York hotel room in 2023, where authorities seized some US$20,000 in connection to his sanctions evasion scheme. In July, he pleaded guilty along with co-defendant Salimdzhon Nasriddinov to conspiracy to commit export control violations.
Goltsev's wife, Kristina Puzyreva, pleaded guilty in February for her role in laundering money as part of the multimillion-dollar sanctions-evasion scheme and was sentenced to two years in July.
In announcing the 40-month sentence, the Department of Justice called Goltsev the 'mastermind' of the global procurement scheme on behalf of sanctioned Russian companies.
According to court documents, Goltsev received component orders from Russian defense and technology companies and fulfilled them with US manufacturers through SH Brothers Inc and SN Electronics Inc, two Brooklyn companies he controlled.
Once received, the components were illegally shipped to front companies located in Turkey, Hong Kong, India, China and the United Arab Emirates, where they were redirected to Russia.
Prosecutors said SH Brothers alone made hundreds of shipments valued at more than $7 million.
Some of the components shipped have been discovered in seized Russian weapons and intelligence equipment in Ukraine, according to federal prosecutors, who said some were critical to Russia's precision-guided weapon systems.
Text message communication between Goltsev and Puzyreva from May 2023, presented by prosecutors, showed that they were aware their actions were in violation of sanctions and that the components they were shipping Russia would be used against Ukraine.
SeaNews Turkey
