Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

U.S. charges Russians for shipping military equipment, Venezuelan oil

U.S. charges Russians for shipping military equipment, Venezuelan oil

U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday charged five Russian nationals for sanctions evasion and other violations related to shipping military technologies bought from U.S. manufacturers to Russian buyers, some of which ended up on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said the electronic components purchased by Russian nationals Yury Orekhov and Svetlana Kuzurgasheva included semiconductors, radars and satellites. Some of the electronics obtained through the scheme have been found in Russian weapons platforms seized in Ukraine, prosecutors said.

They used a German company to ship the military technologies, as well as Venezuelan oil, to Russian purchasers, prosecutors said.

Orekhov was arrested in Germany on Monday. Another Russian charged in the case, Artem Uss, has been arrested in Italy. The United States is seeking his extradition, prosecutors said. Reuters could not immediately reach any of the defendants for comment.

"We will continue to investigate, disrupt and prosecute those who fuel Russia's brutal war in Ukraine, evade sanctions and perpetuate the shadowy economy of transnational money laundering," Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, said in a statement.

Also on Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Orekhov and two companies he controls, Nord-Deutsche Industrieanlagenbau GmbH, also known as NDA, and Opus Energy Trading LLC. Treasury described Orekhov as a procurement agent and said some of the shipments of military and sensitive dual-use technologies to Russian users violated U.S. export controls.

The U.S.-origin technologies can be used in fighter aircraft, ballistic and hypersonic missile systems, smart munitions, and other military applications, Treasury said.

The charges and sanctions come as Washington is seeking to expand sanctions on Russia and crack down on evasion to pressure the Kremlin to stop its invasion of Ukraine.

At a first-of-its kind gathering last week with officials from 32 countries and the United States, Washington warned it can impose sanctions on people, countries and companies that provide ammunition to Russia or support its military-industrial complex.

"We know these efforts are having a direct effect on the battlefield, as Russia's desperation has led them to turn to inferior suppliers and outdated equipment," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said in a statement.

Prosecutors said Orekhov and Uss own NDA and used it as a front to purchase the technologies and ship them to Russian end-users, including sanctioned companies controlled by Timofey Telegin and Sergey Tulyakov, two of the other Russian nationals charged on Wednesday.

The defendants used fake companies and submitted false information to U.S. banks, which processed tens of millions of dollars worth of transactions in violation of sanctions, prosecutors said. The defendants also used cryptocurrency for the transactions and to launder the proceeds, prosecutors said.

Separately on Wednesday, federal prosecutors in Connecticut charged three people with violating U.S. export controls by trying to ship a computer-controlled grinding machine known as a "jig grinder" - which can be used in nuclear proliferation and defense programs - to Russia.

The individuals - all citizens of Latvia or Ukraine - have been arrested by Latvian or Estonian authorities at the request of the United States, prosecutors said.

VENEZUELAN OIL


Orekhov and Uss also used NDA to ship millions of barrels worth of oil from Venezuela to buyers in Russia and China, working with two other defendants, Juan Fernando Serrano and Juan Carlos Soto, to broker the deals with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, upon which the United States placed sanctions in 2019.

According to the indictment unsealed on Wednesday, Orekhov and Uss "repeatedly" bought oil from PDVSA and supplied it to a publicly-traded Russian aluminum company controlled by a Russian billionaire and industrialist.

Without naming the company, the indictment said it had been under U.S. sanctions from April 6, 2018 until Jan. 27, 2019 - which matches the dates that Russian aluminum company Rusal (RUAL.MM) was sanctioned. Rusal was founded by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who is himself facing U.S. charges of violating sanctions.

Rusal did not respond to a request for comment after normal business hours in Moscow. A lawyer for Deripaska did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Neither PDVSA nor Venezuela's information ministry immediately responded to requests for comment.

After the initial round of U.S. sanctions on PDVSA, Russia's Rosneft emerged as a key intermediary for Venezuelan crude. After Washington sanctioned Rosneft subsidiaries over their dealings with PDVSA, dozens of firms with no track record of oil trading have been intermediating in sales of Venezuelan oil to Chinese buyers.

A Reuters investigation found many of them were registered as webpages in Russia.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
×