Two Kansas men were arrested Thursday on charges related to a years-long scheme to circumvent U.S. export laws, according to authorities.
This included the illegal export of aviation-related technology to Russia after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and stricter restrictions on exports to Russia.
According to the indictment, Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, 59, of Lawrence, and Douglas Robertson, 55, of Olathe, owned and operated KanRus Trading Company, which supplied Western avionics equipment (i.e., electronics installed in aircraft) to Russian companies and provided repair services for equipment used in Russian-manufactured aircraft.
Since 2020, the defendants have conspired to evade U.S. export laws by concealing and misstating the actual end users, value, and end destinations of their exports and by transshipping items through third-party countries, officials stated.
For example, between November 2020 and February 2021, the defendants received avionics equipment, including a computer processor bearing a sticker identifying Russia’s Federal Security Services (FSB), from a Russian company for repair in the United States, according to officials.
The defendants concealed the user and destination by providing a fraudulent invoice to the shipment company identifying the destination as Germany.
As further alleged, on Feb. 28, 2022, the defendants attempted to export avionics to Russia. U.S. authorities detained the shipment, and the U.S. Department of Commerce informed the defendants that a license was required to export the equipment to Russia.
In an April 2022 communication, Robertson expressed to a Russia-based customer that “things are complicated in the USA” and that “[t]his is NOT the right time for [more paperwork and visibility].” Subsequently, in May, June, and July 2022, the defendants illegally transshipped avionics through Armenia and Cyprus to Russia without obtaining the required licenses.
To read the entire indictment, click here: DOJ Kansas Men
The defendants are charged with conspiracy, exporting controlled goods without a license, falsifying and failing to file electronic export information, and smuggling goods contrary to U.S. law.
The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of exporting controlled goods without a license, up to 10 years in prison for each count of smuggling, and up to five years in prison for each count of conspiracy and falsifying export information.
The FBI and the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Rask and Ryan Huschka for the District of Kansas and Trial Attorney Adam Barry of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
The investigation was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export controls, and economic countermeasures that the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine.