Export Control and Sanctions News

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Nikolay Goltsev was sentenced by United States District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall to 40 months’ imprisonment for conspiring to commit export control violations. Goltsev, a Canadian national, masterminded a global procurement scheme on behalf of sanctioned Russian companies, including Russian military companies.

Klaus Pflugbeil, 59, of Ningbo, China, was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for conspiring to send trade secrets that belong to a leading U.S.-based electric vehicle company (Victim Company-1). Pflugbeil, a resident of the People’s Republic of China (the PRC or China) and a Canadian and German national, and his co-defendant, Yilong Shao, who remains at large, are owners of a PRC-based business (Business-1) that sold technology used to make batteries, including batteries used in electric vehicles. Pflugbeil and Shao, former employees of a company that was purchased by Victim Company-1

BROOKLYN, NY – A 12-count indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Natalya Ivanovna Mazulina, also known as “Natasha Mazulina,” for her alleged involvement in a scheme to circumvent U.S. export laws and sanctions on Russia.  Mazulina, the Western regional manager of a freight forwarding company based in Jamaica, New York, which operated out of John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK airport) in Queens, New York, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington State, was arrested earlier today in Seattle.

Today, Hector Samuel Esquijerosa, 52, a resident of Miami, pled guilty for his participation in a conspiracy to smuggle merchandise into the United States by means of false and fraudulent invoices presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency in charge of collecting import duties. 

On Nov. 20, a federal jury convicted Gabriel Donato-Mendez, 48, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., of conspiracy to export United States defense articles and of attempted smuggling of defense articles.  

On Nov. 20 in the District of Oregon, Sanjay Kaushik, 57, of India, was indicted for conspiring to export controlled aviation components with dual civilian and military applications to end users in Russia, in violation of the Export Control Reform Act. 

AMIN BETUNI shipped the firearm parts to individuals in Israel on at least three occasions in 2022.

A federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment Wednesday charging a Delhi, India man with conspiring and attempting to export controlled aviation components and a navigation and flight control system to end users in Russia, in violation of the Export Control Reform Act.

STANISLAV ROMANYUK, 39, a citizen of Ukraine last residing in Estonia, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 33 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in a scheme to violate United States export laws and regulations by attempting to smuggle a dual-use export-controlled item to Russia.

Eleview International Inc., Oleg Nayandin, 54, of Fairfax, Virginia, and Vitaliy Borisenko, 39, of Vienna, Virginia, made their initial appearance today in the Eastern District of Virginia pursuant to a now unsealed complaint charging them with conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act.

Vadim Yermolenko, 43, a dual U.S.-Russian national and resident of New Jersey, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States for his role in a transnational procurement and money laundering network that sought to acquire sensitive dual-use electronics for Russian military and intelligence services.

“To facilitate the Russian war machine, the defendant played a critical role in exporting sensitive, dual-use technologies to Russia, facilitating shipping and the movement of millions of dollars through U.S. financial institutions,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “This plea highlights my Office and our law enforcement partners continued commitment to use all tools available to prosecute those who unlawfully procure U.S. technology to send to Russia.”