Washington (AFP) – US authorities charged five Russians on Wednesday for allegedly sending US electronic components to Russian arms manufacturers, some of which were found on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Separately, three Latvians and a Ukrainian were charged with trying to ship a high-precision American industrial mill to Russia that the Justice Department said could be used by weapons manufacturers or in a nuclear weapons program. The Justice Department said the two schemes involved condom companies in several countries, including Dubai and Germany, and were designed to evade US and global sanctions on Russia. The first plan involved buying sensitive technologies from American manufacturers, such as advanced semiconductors and microprocessors used in fighter jets, missile systems, smart munitions, radars and satellites. The Justice Department said Dubai-based Russian Yury Orekhov, Artem Uss, the son of a regional Russian governor, and the three others used a Hamburg, Germany-based company for the operation, sending some of the technology to Russian defense companies that are under US sanctions. He said, for example, that Orekhov had traveled to the United States in 2019 to procure parts used in the Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jet. “Some of the types of electronic components obtained through the criminal system have been found on Russian weapons platforms seized on the battlefield in Ukraine,” the Justice Department said. At the same time, he said, Orekhov, his Russian associates and two Venezuelan oil brokers who were also indicted used the German company as a front to ship “hundreds of millions of barrels of oil” from Venezuela to Russia and China, in violation of global sanctions. . The payments meanwhile were routed through shell companies, a bank in the United Arab Emirates and through cash discounts and cryptocurrency transactions, the department said. The five Russians and two businessmen are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, sanctions violations, fraud and money laundering. Orekhov and Uss were arrested Monday in Germany and Italy, respectively, and the United States will request their extradition, the ministry said. In the second scheme, the four arranged to purchase a jig mill manufactured in the US state of Connecticut ostensibly for the European market, but attempted to ship it to Russia. The mill was intercepted by the Latvian authorities. “These defendants attempted to transport a highly accurate export-controlled object to Russia, where it could have been used for nuclear proliferation and Russian defense programs,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery. The three Latvians were arrested on Tuesday while the Ukrainian national was arrested in June in Estonia. All are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, smuggling and money laundering. The Ministry of Justice is also requesting their extradition. Meanwhile, the US Treasury has sanctioned Orekhov, the German company and a Dubai company it controls. “Russia is increasingly struggling to secure critical inputs and technologies needed for its brutal war against Ukraine,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement. “We know these efforts are having an immediate impact on the battlefield, as Russia’s desperation has led them to turn to inferior suppliers and obsolete equipment,” Adeyemo said. © 2022 AFP
