Over $7 Million Worth of Semiconductors, Integrated Circuits, and Other Electronics Unlawfully Exported to Russian End-Users Affiliated with the Russian Military.
Four individuals were arrested, and an indictment and criminal complaint were unsealed this week in federal court in New York regarding two separate conspiracies to unlawfully export controlled, dual-use technologies to Russia following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This week, a criminal complaint was unsealed, and a Brooklyn, New York, resident and two Canadian nationals were arrested in connection with a sophisticated global procurement scheme in which the defendants used two corporate entities registered in Brooklyn to unlawfully source and purchase millions of dollars’ worth of dual-use electronics on behalf of end-users in Russia, including companies affiliated with the Russian military.
Some of the electronic components and integrated circuits shipped by the defendants are the same make, model, and part number that have been found in seized Russian weapons platforms and signals intelligence equipment in Ukraine.
Separately, on Wednesday, a Brooklyn resident was arrested, and a four-count indictment was unsealed.
It alleges an illegal export scheme to procure dual-use electronic components for entities in Russia involved in the development and manufacture of drones for the Russian war effort in Ukraine.
“Russia relies on critical technologies to wage its unlawful war in Ukraine, and the Justice Department will use all of our legal tools and authorities to deny them those technologies,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco.
“Protecting American technologies and securing innovation from foreign adversaries is of the utmost importance to U.S. national security,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “The conduct alleged in the charging documents represents a complete disregard for our nation’s security and our laws.”
United States v. Goltsev et al.
According to court documents, Nikolay Goltsev, 37, of Montreal, Canada; Salimdzhon Nasriddinov, 52, of Brooklyn; and Kristina Puzyreva, 32, of Montreal, Canada are charged in a sanctions evasion and export control scheme.
This involved millions of dollars’ worth of semiconductors, integrated circuits and other dual-use electronic components were unlawfully exported to Russia through two Brooklyn front companies.
Nasriddinov, a Brooklyn resident and dual citizen of Russia and Tajikistan, was arrested on Oct. 31 in Brooklyn. Goltsev and Puzyreva were arrested at a hotel in Manhattan on Oct. 31 during a trip to New York to visit Nasriddinov.
As alleged, the defendants used two corporate entities registered in Brooklyn – SH Brothers Inc. and SN Electronics Inc. – to facilitate the scheme and unlawfully source, purchase, and ship millions of dollars’ worth of dual-use electronics from U.S. manufacturers to sanctioned end-users in Russia.
Many of the electronic components and integrated circuits shipped by the defendants through SH Brothers were, according to the Department of Commerce, “of the highest concern due to their critical role in the production of advanced Russian precision-guided weapons systems, Russia’s lack of domestic production, and limited global manufacturers.”
According to the complaint, some of the electronic components and integrated circuits shipped by the defendants through SH Brothers are the same make, model, and part number that have been found in seized Russian weapons platforms and signals intelligence equipment in Ukraine.
This includes the Torn-MDM radio reconnaissance complex, the RB-301B “Borisoglebsk-2” electronic warfare complex, the Izdeliye 305E light multi-purpose guided missile, the Vitebsk L370 airborne counter missile system, Ka-52 helicopters, Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and T-72B3 battle tanks.
During the period charged in the complaint, SH Brothers made hundreds of shipments valued at over $7 million to Russia.
As alleged, Goltsev received orders from Russian end-users in the defense and technology sectors who sought to acquire a particular item or part from the United States.
Goltsev then communicated directly with U.S. manufacturers and distributors, typically using aliases such as “Nick Stevens” or “Gio Ross.” Nasriddinov and Goltsev purchased electronic components from U.S. manufacturers and distributors under the auspices of SH Brothers and SN Electronics. They arranged for the items to be sent to various locations in Brooklyn.
Nasriddinov and Goltsev then unlawfully shipped the items to a variety of intermediary corporations located in other countries, including Turkey, Hong Kong, India, China, and the United Arab Emirates, where they were rerouted to Russia. Puzyreva operated numerous bank accounts and conducted financial transactions in furtherance of the scheme.
As described in the complaint, the defendants were aware that the electronics being exported had potential military applications.
For example, in a November 2022 message exchange between Nasriddinov and Goltsev, Goltsev commented how shipping to Russia had become “dangerous” and discussed a shipment of electronic components that U.S. officials had detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Nassridinov responded that “Ukrainians alleged that they’re being bombed from parts from there [the U.S. manufacturer], maybe that’s why they started investigating everything?” Goltsev responded that, “we need to figure out why they keep holding the package … I don’t really understand how they figured [it] out.” In a subsequent message, Goltsev commented that, “in the future we will need to load from several companies, not to attract attention … for now large packages will be dangerous until we understand what they figured out … we will need to think of diversifying the load … so that not everything is not moving from the same deck.”
Additionally, in a February 2023 message, Nasriddinov wrote to Goltsev, “Happy Defender of the Fatherland,” referring the holiday in Russia and parts of the former Soviet Union celebrating those who served in the armed forces. Goltsev responded, “happy holiday to you too my friend, we are defending it in the way that we can [smile emoji].”
The FBI, Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, and Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Artie McConnell and Ellen H. Sise for the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorney Christopher M. Cook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
United States v. Grigorev et al.
In a four-count indictment unsealed today in the Eastern District of New York, Nikita Arkhipov, 39, and Artem Oloviannikov, 37, both of St. Petersburg, Russia; and Nikolay Grigorev, 36, of Brooklyn; are charged with conspiracy and other offenses related to an export control scheme to benefit companies affiliated with the Russian military, including SMT-iLogic, a sanctioned Russian entity that has been identified as part of the supply chain for producing Russian military drones used in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Grigorev was arrested Wednesday. Arkhipov and Oloviannikov remain at large.
As alleged in the indictment and other court filings, the defendants used a corporate entity, Quality Life Cue LLC (QLC), to facilitate their illegal export control scheme. QLC was registered in Brooklyn and controlled by Grigorev and Oloviannikov, with Arkhipov utilizing a QLC email account from Russia.
Through QLC, the defendants procured dual-use electronic components, including semiconductors, for entities in Russia involved in the Russian war effort in Ukraine.
According to court documents, between Oct. 22, 2021, and Feb. 22, 2022, QLC accounts controlled by Grigorev received wire transactions from iLogic totaling approximately $273,000.
These funds were used almost entirely to make payments to a Brooklyn-based electronics distributor or to pay Grigorev’s credit cards, which he used to buy goods from the Brooklyn-based company. Email and chat communications amongst the defendants explicitly reference efforts to circumvent U.S. sanctions; use “test” or “fictitious” orders to test new supply lines to Russia; and to discuss front companies in third countries, including Kazakhstan.
In June 2023, a court-authorized search warrant of Grigorev’s residence in Brooklyn successfully interdicted over 11,500 electronic components purchased from the Brooklyn-based company that were awaiting unlawful export to Russia.
The FBI and Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Artie McConnell, Rebecca Schuman, and Kate Mathews for the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorney Natalya Savransky of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.