Two American citizens were arrested in Kansas for an alleged scheme to send aviation technology to Russia in violation of U.S. export controls, the Justice Department announced on Thursday.
Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, 59, and Douglas Edward Robertson, 55, were arrested on charges related to an alleged years-long scheme to send Russian companies western avionics equipment through their firm, KanRus Trading Company, the DOJ said in a statement. They allegedly conspired to evade U.S. export laws with falsehoods about the end users and value of their exports.
‼️ Reuters: U.S. citizens in Kansas City were arrested for sending U.S. aviation technology to Russians.
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Buyanovsky and Robertson have been 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,” according to an unsealed indictment. (RELATED: Blinken Meets With Sergey Lavrov For First Time Since War)
The DOJ’s KleptoCapture task force coordinated the investigation across various government agencies, according to the DOJ. KleptoCapture was created in March 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in order to enforce sanctions, exports controls and other economic measures imposed by the U.S. and its allies.
Each count related to exporting without a license has a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison and each count of smuggling has a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. The counts for conspiracy and falsifying export information have maximum sentences of five years each, according to the DOJ.
Buyanovsky is a naturalized American citizen who was president of KanRus, the DOJ stated. Robertson, a commercial airline pilot, operated KanRus alongside Buyanovsky, according to the indictment.
Russia’s war against Ukraine is an ongoing conflict in the eastern regions of Ukraine. The U.S. has approved over $100 billion of combined military assistance and general aid for Ukraine in a little over a year since the war began.