Three Russians arrested in the United States, accused of supplying $10 million worth of American electronics to the Russian army

The US authorities have arrested three Russian citizens who have been charged with organizing the supply of American electronics for the needs of the Russian army.

The US Department of Justice reports that 37-year-old Nikolai Goltsev, 52-year-old Salimdzhon Nasriddinov, and 32-year-old Kristina Puzyryova managed to circumvent sanctions by supplying the Russian armed forces with electronic components worth about $10 million.

The charges were brought in New York. The Justice Department reports that Nasriddinov, who has Tajik citizenship in addition to Russian, was arrested in Brooklyn, and Goltsev and Puzyryova were arrested in a hotel in Manhattan (they had come to New York to meet with Nasriddinov).

According to prosecutors, Goltsev and Puzyryova live in Montreal, Canada, and Nasriddinov lives in Brooklyn.

According to prosecutors, the arrested shipped more than 300 consignments of electronic products banned for export to Russia because of its military aggression against Ukraine.

"The defendants are alleged to have circumvented sanctions by sending equipment to Russia that is vital to its precision weapons. Some of it was used on the battlefield in Ukraine," said U.S. Attorney Breon Pease.

The US prosecutors believe that Goltsev received orders from representatives of the Russian defense and technology industries, who named the electronic components they needed.

Goltsev then contacted American manufacturers using fake names (for example, "Nick Stevens" or "Gio Ross") and, with Nasriddinov's help, purchased components for two companies they created, SH Brothers and SN Electronics, prosecutors write. Puzyryova, according to them, managed multiple bank accounts and carried out the financial transactions necessary to implement the scheme.

The electronics were delivered to several different addresses in Brooklyn, after which Nasriddinov and Goltsev "illegally shipped the items to several international intermediary corporations located in other countries, including Turkey, Hong Kong, India, China, and the United Arab Emirates," the US Department of Justice said.

The documents say that the electronic components that the defendants sent to Russia were later found in a number of Russian weapons captured on the battlefield in Ukraine.

The US Department of Justice lists the following systems, among others:

• Thorne-MDM electronic warfare system
• RB-301B electronic warfare system "Borisoglebsk-2"
• Light multi-purpose guided missile "Izdeliye 305E"
• On-board defense system "Vitebsk L-370"
• Ka-52 helicopters
• "Orlan-10" drones
• T-72B3 tanks

Background. As it became known, a Russian was convicted in the Netherlands for violating anti-Russian sanctions. He was transporting electronics and other dual-use technologies to Russia.