A group of Russian and Venezuelan nationals have been indicted by US authorities for their role in a scheme to circumvent Western sanctions and launder money globally. They are accused of acquiring military technology from U.S. companies, smuggling oil, and disguising the flow of money for Russian oligarchs through crypto deals with shell companies.
The Russians arrested in Europe face extradition to the United States on suspicion of shipping oil and dual-use technology in violation of sanctions
Five Russians and two Venezuelans have been charged with violations related to purchasing U.S.-made military and dual-use equipment for Russian buyers and shipping Venezuelan oil in violation of restrictions. According to federal prosecutors, some of the electronic components were to be used in Russian weapons systems seized on the Ukrainian battlefield.
On Wednesday, a 12-count indictment was filed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, the U.S. Department of Justice said. The five Russians facing various charges of global procurement and money laundering are Yury Orekhov, Artem Uss, Svetlana Kuzurgasheva, also known as “Lana Neuman,” Timofey Telegin, and Sergey Turyakov.
The United States is currently seeking the extradition of Orekhov and Uss, who were arrested in Germany and Italy, respectively. Venezuelan nationals Juan Fernando Serrano Ponce (‘Juanfe Serrano’) and Juan Carlos Soto were also indicted; the two were charged as part of an unraveled scheme to use the Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA ), which brokered illicit oil transactions for the company. Breon Pease, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, had the following to say about the indictment.
As alleged, the defendants were criminal backers of the oligarchs and orchestrated a complex scheme to illegally obtain U.S. military technology and Venezuelan sanctioned oil through countless transactions involving shell companies and cryptocurrencies.
Jonathan Carson, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Export and Import Enforcement, stressed, “We will continue to enforce the unprecedented export controls implemented in response to Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine and the Bureau of Export Enforcement will pursue these violators wherever they are in the world.”
U.S. authorities allege that the defendants used an entity registered in Germany to execute the shipments.Yury Orekhov is a Hamburg-based Nord-Deutsche Industrieanlagenbau GmbH (NDA), of which he was part owner and chief executive officer, and whose primary activities were industrial equipment and commodities trading.
NDA served as a front company for the Russians to procure and acquire sensitive technology such as microprocessors used in fighter aircraft, missile systems, smart munitions, and radar systems. The items were then shipped to end users in the Russian Federation, including sanctioned companies engaged in the Russian defense industry.
Using the same entities, Orekhov and Uss smuggled hundreds of millions of barrels of oil from Venezuela for Russian and Chinese clients. These included the sanctioned Russian oligarch aluminum company and a Beijing-based oil and gas conglomerate that is said to be the largest in the world.
The transactions between PDVSA and the NDA were brokered by Venezuelans, with millions of U.S. dollars worth of transactions conducted through numerous paper companies and bank accounts. The DOJ also alleges that participants in the transactions used Russian and Latin American couriers to deliver cash and encrypted money transfers to conduct the transactions and launder the proceeds. If convicted, the defendants face up to 30 years in prison, the announcement noted.
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