Russia -

Russian National Charged with Supplying U.S. Technology to the Russian and North Korean Governments (DOJ Action)

Those involved. Ilya Balakaev, Russian national.

Charges and penalties. Conspiracy to Defraud the United States; Conspiracy to Violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA); Conspiracy to Violate Export Control Reform Act (ECRA); and Smuggling Goods from the United States (maximum of 75 years in prison).

What happened? On February 24, Balakaev was indicted for illegally smuggling various controlled devices from the United States to Russia and North Korea. Balakaev entered into contracts with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) to repair spectrum analyzers and signal generators through his company, Radiotester LLC. Such devices are not easily obtained in Russia, so Balakaev leveraged a procurement network in the U.S. to obtain the relevant equipment. He reportedly entered into at least 10 contracts with the FSB, procured more than 43 devices, and traveled to the United States more than a dozen times in furtherance of his procurement efforts. The spectrum analyzers are included on the Commerce Control List (CCL) and require a license for export, but neither Balakaev nor Radiotester had such a license.