{"id":53646,"date":"2022-10-19T15:17:47","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T22:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=53646"},"modified":"2022-10-19T15:17:47","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T22:17:47","slug":"five-russian-nationals-and-two-oil-traders-charged-in-global-sanctions-evasion-and-money-laundering-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=53646","title":{"rendered":"Five Russian Nationals and Two Oil Traders Charged in Global Sanctions Evasion and Money Laundering Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Defendants Obtained Military Technology from U.S. Companies, Smuggled Millions of Barrels of Oil and Laundered Tens of Millions of Dollars for Russian Oligarchs, Sanctioned Entities and the World\u2019s Largest Energy Conglomerate<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A 12-count indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn, New York charging five Russian nationals, Yury Orekhov, Artem Uss, Svetlana Kuzurgasheva, also known as \u201cLana Neumann,\u201d Timofey Telegin and Sergey Tulyakov with various charges related to a global procurement, smuggling and money laundering network.\u00a0 Also charged were Juan Fernando Serrano Ponce, also known as \u201cJuanfe Serrano\u201d and Juan Carlos Soto, who brokered illicit oil deals for Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), the Venezuelan state-owned oil company, as part of the scheme.\u00a0 On October 17, 2022, Orekhov was arrested in Germany and Uss was arrested in Italy, both at the request of the United States,\u00a0and will undergo extradition proceedings.<\/p>\n

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Jonathan Carson, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Commerce\u2019s Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office, and Andrew Adams, Director, Task Force KleptoCapture announced the charges.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs alleged, the defendants were criminal enablers for oligarchs, orchestrating a complex scheme to unlawfully obtain U.S. military technology and Venezuelan sanctioned oil through a myriad of transactions involving shell companies and cryptocurrency.\u00a0 Their efforts undermined security, economic stability and rule of law around the world,\u201d stated United States Attorney Peace.\u00a0 \u201cWe will continue to investigate, disrupt and prosecute those who fuel Russia\u2019s brutal war in Ukraine, evade sanctions and perpetuate the shadowy economy of transnational money laundering.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we announce the dismantling of a sophisticated network consisting of at least five Russian nationals and two Venezuelan nationals, each of whom are directly linked to corrupt state-owned enterprises, who knowingly sought to conceal the theft of U.S. military technology and profit off black market oil,\u201d said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll. \u201cThis network schemed to procure sophisticated technology in direct support of a floundering Russian Federation military industrial complex. While America’s adversaries may seek innovative means to undermine the United States, they will continuously be met with the FBI’s resolve through tirelessly uncovering and overcoming all threats to U.S. national security, no matter where they may seek safe haven.<\/p>\n

\u201cComplex criminal schemes like this require sustained coordination and collaboration between federal law enforcement and international partners. I\u2019m proud of our team of dedicated law enforcement professionals for their teamwork and dedication to enforcing U.S. export controls,\u201d stated U.S. Department of Commerce Special Agent-in-Charge Carson. \u00a0\u201cWe will continue to enforce the unprecedented export controls implemented in response to Russia\u2019s illegal war against Ukraine and the Office of Export Enforcement intends to pursue these violators wherever they may be worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWebs of shell companies, cryptocurrency and an international network of fraudsters failed to shield Orekhov and his cronies from apprehension by U.S. law enforcement. Stamping out evasion of export controls on military technology is among the Task Force\u2019s highest priorities, and today\u2019s arrests reflects the power of those controls when enforced by a dedicated team of expert agents and devoted foreign partners,\u201d stated Task Force KleptoCapture Director Adams.<\/p>\n

As alleged, Orekov has served as the part owner, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Nord-Deutsche Industrieanlagenbau GmbH (NDA GmbH), a privately held industrial equipment and commodity trading company located in Hamburg, Germany.\u00a0 The other owner of NDA GmbH is Artem Uss, the son of the governor of Russia\u2019s Krasnoyarsk Krai region.\u00a0 Kuzurgasheva served as the Chief Executive Officer of one of the scheme\u2019s shell companies and worked for NDA GmbH under Orekhov.\u00a0 Using NDA GmbH as a front company, Orekhov and Kuzurgasheva sourced and purchased sensitive military and dual-use technologies from U.S. manufacturers, including advanced semiconductors and microprocessors used in fighter aircraft, missile systems, smart munitions, radar, satellites and other space-based military applications.\u00a0 These items were shipped to Russian end users, including sanctioned companies controlled by Telegin and Tulyakov, such as Radioavtomatika, Radioexport and Abtronics, that serviced Russia\u2019s defense sector.\u00a0 Some of the same electronic components obtained through the criminal scheme have been found in Russian weapons platforms seized on the battlefield in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

In 2019, Orekhov travelled to the United States to source parts used in the Russian-made Sukhoi fighter aircraft and the American-made F-22 Raptor stealth fighter aircraft.\u00a0 Orekhov and Uss also used NDA GmbH as a front to smuggle hundreds of millions of barrels of oil from Venezuela to Russian and Chinese purchasers, including a Russian aluminum company controlled by a sanctioned oligarch and the world\u2019s largest oil refining, gas and petrochemical conglomerate based in Beijing, People\u2019s Republic of China.\u00a0 Serrano Ponce and Soto brokered deals worth millions of dollars between PDVSA and NDA GmbH, which were routed through a complex group of shell companies and bank accounts to disguise the transactions.\u00a0 In one communication with Serrano Ponce, Orekhov openly admitted that he was acting on behalf of a sanctioned Russian oligarch, saying \u201cHe [the oligarch] is under sanctions as well.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we [are] acting from this company [NDA GmbH].\u00a0 As fronting.\u201d\u00a0 The scheme also involved falsified shipping documents and supertankers that deactivated their GPS navigation systems to obscure the Venezuelan origin of their oil.<\/p>\n

Payment for NDA GmbH\u2019s illicit activities was often consummated in U.S. dollars routed through U.S. financial institutions and correspondent bank accounts.\u00a0 To facilitate these transactions, Orekhov and his coconspirators used fictitious companies, falsified \u201cKnow Your Customer\u201d documentation and bank accounts in high-risk jurisdictions, causing U.S. banks to process tens of millions of dollars in violation of U.S. sanctions and other criminal laws.\u00a0 In one conversation with Soto, Orekhov bragged that \u201cthere were no worries…this is the shittiest bank in the Emirates\u2026they pay to everything.\u201d\u00a0 The scheme also utilized bulk cash drops with couriers in Russia and Latin America, as well as cryptocurrency transfers worth millions of dollars, to effectuate these transactions and launder the proceeds.<\/p>\n

On March 30, 2022, Orekhov asked the defendant Uss, \u201cHave you decided to leave Russia?\u201d \u00a0Uss joked in response, \u201c[Y]ou want to be an international fugitive?\u201d<\/p>\n

On March 2, 2022, the Attorney General announced the launch of Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed, along with allies and partners, in response to Russia\u2019s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine.\u00a0 The task force will leverage all the Department\u2019s tools and authorities against efforts to evade or undermine the economic actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.<\/p>\n

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum of 30 years\u2019 imprisonment.\u00a0 The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s case is being handled by the Office\u2019s National Security and Cybercrime Section.\u00a0 Assistant United States Attorney Artie McConnell is in charge of the prosecution, with valuable assistance from Trial Attorney Scott A. Claffee of the National Security Division\u2019s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and Litigation Analyst Ben Richmond. Assistant United States Attorney Madeline O\u2019Connor of the Office\u2019s Asset Recovery Section is handling forfeiture matters.\u00a0The Justice Department\u2019s Office of International Affairs is providing substantial assistance. The United States thanks German and Italian authorities for their valuable assistance.<\/p>\n

The Defendants<\/u><\/b>:<\/b><\/p>\n

YURY OREKHOV
\nAge: 42
\nDubai, United Arab Emirates<\/p>\n

ARTEM USS
\nAge: 40
\nMoscow, Russia<\/p>\n

SVETLANA KUZURGASHEVA
\nAge: 32
\nMoscow, Russia<\/p>\n

JUAN FERNANDO SERRANO PONCE
\nAGE: 47
\nDubai, United Arab Emirates<\/p>\n

JUAN CARLOS SOTO<\/p>\n

TIMOFEY TELEGIN
\nAge: 39
\nMoscow, Russia<\/p>\n

SERGEY TULYAKOV
\nAge: 52
\nMoscow, Russia<\/p>\n

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-434 (EK)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Defendants Obtained Military Technology from...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-s-a","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53646"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53647,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53646\/revisions\/53647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}