US charges 5 Russians, 2 Americans for conspiring on behalf of Moscow

The United States has charged five Russian nationals and two Americans with conspiracy related to a global procurement and money laundering scheme on behalf of Moscow.

A statement issued by the Department of Justice on Tuesday said, "A 16-count superseding indictment was unsealed yesterday in Brooklyn charging five Russian nationals, Yevgeniy Grinin, Aleksey Ippolitov, Boris Livshits, Svetlana Skvortsova and Vadim Konoshchenok with conspiracy and other charges related to a global procurement and money laundering network on behalf of the Russian government."

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The statement said that Konoshchenok, a suspected officer with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), was arrested in Estonia on December 6 and will undergo extradition proceedings to the US. On the other hand, Yevgeniy Grinin, Aleksey Ippolitov, Boris Livshits and Svetlana Skvortsova remain at large.

The statement said the two Americans charged are Alexey Brayman and Vadim Yermolenko and they have been arrested.

The 16-count superseding indictment alleged that these seven defendants unlawfully purchased and exported highly sensitive and heavily regulated electronic components- "some of which can be used in the development of nuclear and hypersonic weapons, quantum computing and other military applications,'' the statement said.

Following the war in Ukraine in February this year, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of Commerce (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) levied sanctions against Serniya, Sertal, Yevgeniy Grinin and several companies used in the scheme, as well as multiple individuals affiliated with the network, including defendant Yevgeniy Grinin, calling them “instrumental to the Russian Federation’s war machine,” it added.

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Konoshchenok, a self-identified Colonel in the FSB, would ship or physically smuggle US-origin items from Estonia to Russia, including dual-use electronics, military-grade tactical ammunition and other export-controlled items. On October 27, Konoshchenok was stopped at the Estonia border with 35 different types of semiconductors and other electronic components ordered by Boris Livshits as well as thousands of US-made made 6.5mm bullets that are used in military sniper rifles, the Justice Department also said on Tuesday.

The suspected FSB officer was again stopped on November 24 while attempting to cross into Russia with approximately twenty cases containing thousands of US-origin bullets, including tactical rounds and .338 military sniper rounds.

The Department further pointed out that if these defendants are convicted, they face a maximum of 30 years imprisonment.

(With inputs from agencies)

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