Current:Home > BackKansas businessman pleads guilty in case over illegal export of aviation technology to Russia-LoTradeCoin
Kansas businessman pleads guilty in case over illegal export of aviation technology to Russia
View Date:2024-12-23 20:26:22
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas businessman has pleaded guilty to illegally exporting sensitive aviation technology to Russian companies in violation of U.S. sanctions.
Douglas Edward Robertson, who lives in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, was the second Kansas business executive to plead guilty to charges after being accused of smuggling, money laundering, violating U.S. export regulations, submitting false or misleading information to export regulators and conspiring to commit crimes against the U.S., all for profit. Their arrests and the arrest of a Latvian associate in March 2023 came as the U.S. ramped up sanctions and financial penalties on Russia over its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Robertson, 56, entered his plea Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree in Kansas City. The judge set his sentencing for Oct. 3. Robertson pleaded guilty to four of the 26 counts against him and could face up to 20 years in prison for either the money laundering or export violations convictions.
According to prosecutors, starting in October 2020, the defendants sought to sell electronics that included threat detection systems and flight, navigation and communications controls, to two Russian aircraft parts distributors, a Russian aircraft repair firm and a Russian aircraft services company. They sought to hide their unlicensed activities by going through companies and using bank accounts elsewhere, including Armenia, Cyprus, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the United Arab Emirates.
“Those who seek to profit by illegally selling sophisticated U.S. technology to our adversaries are putting the national security of our country at risk,” Robert Wells, the executive assistant director of the FBI’s National Security Branch, said in a statement.
One of Robertson’s attorneys, Branden Bell, declined to comment when reached Wednesday.
U.S. export controls were meant to limit Russia’s access to computer chips and other products needed to equip a modern military. The indictment against Robertson said the electronics he and the other two men sought to export “could make a significant contribution” to another nation’s military.
Robertson, a commercial pilot, and Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, an aviation engineer from Lawrence, operated the KanRus Trading Co. together and worked with Oleg Chistyakov, a Latvian citizen who frequently traveled to the UAE, according to prosecutors.
Buyanovsky pleaded guilty in December to one count of conspiring to launder money and one count of conspiring to commit crimes against the U.S., and his sentencing is set for Nov. 14. There is no indication of whether Chistyakov has been taken into custody, and he has yet to enter a plea, according to online court records.
The indictment charging the three men lists nine exports of aviation electronics to Russian companies from February 2021 through December 2022 and attempts to export electronics once in February 2022 and twice in March 2023.
Prosecutors have said the U.S. government seized $450,000 in electronics blocked from export the day before Buyanovsky and Robertson were arrested.
“Robertson’s guilty plea is reflective of the strong evidence gathered against him by federal investigators and the solid case presented by federal prosecutors,” Kate E. Brubacher, the chief federal prosecutor in Kansas, said in a statement.
veryGood! (189)
Related
- New Yorkers vent their feelings over the election and the Knicks via subway tunnel sticky notes
- PGA Tour creates special sponsor exemption for Tiger Woods
- Video shows baby moose trapped in Alaska lake saved from sure demise as its worried mom watches
- New Netflix House locations in Texas, Pennsylvania will give fans 'immersive experiences'
- FanDuel Sports Network regional channels will be available as add-on subscription on Prime Video
- Is the stock market open or closed on Juneteenth 2024? See full holiday schedule
- Boeing CEO David Calhoun grilled by lawmakers as new whistleblower claims emerge
- Reaction to the death of Willie Mays, ‘a true Giant on and off the field’
- NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Bobby Allison dies at 86
- Jinkx Monsoon is in her actress era, 'transphobes be damned'
Ranking
- Steelers shoot for the moon ball, but will offense hold up or wilt in brutal final stretch?
- Kevin Durant says there are 'better candidates' than Caitlin Clark for U.S. Olympic team
- Machine Gun Kelly Shares Rare Look at Dad Life With Daughter Casie
- ‘Fancy Dance’ with Lily Gladstone balances heartbreak, humor in story of a missing Indigenous woman
- The ancient practice of tai chi is more popular than ever. Why?
- Justin Timberlake's Mug Shot From DWI Arrest Revealed
- Legacy of the Negro Leagues to live on during MLB game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham
- Alberto, season’s first named tropical storm, dumps rain on Texas and Mexico, which reports 3 deaths
Recommendation
-
Republican Gabe Evans ousts Democratic US Rep. Yadira Caraveo in Colorado
-
Matt Grevers, 39, in pool for good time after coming out of retirement for Olympic trials
-
Kristin Cavallari Sets Record Straight on Her Boob Job and Tummy Tuck Rumors
-
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker Channeling Forrest Gump Is Sweeter Than a Box of Chocolates
-
The state that cleared the way for sports gambling now may ban ‘prop’ bets on college athletes
-
What College World Series games are on Wednesday? Tennessee one win away from title series
-
Subway unveils new Footlong Dippers: Here's what they are
-
Justin Timberlake: What's next after his DWI arrest. Will he continue his tour?