A Latvian national has pleaded guilty in US federal court to charges related to an alleged conspiracy involving shipping US-made avionics components to Russian buyers in violation of US export laws and sanctions.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) says Oleg Chistyakov admitted to his role in a scheme involving shipments of Traffic Collision Avoidance System processors, transponder equipment and Honeywell-made distance-measuring equipment.
US officials had extradited Chistyakov from Latvia in August 2024.
He admits conspiring “to facilitate the sale, repair and shipment of US-origin avionics equipment to customers in Russia and in other countries that operate Russian-built aircraft”, the DOJ says on 30 September.
The partners shipped the components without required US Department of Commerce licenses and in violation of US sanctions, according to the DOJ. It adds that the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation – that country’s primary intelligence agency – is among customers that received the components.
The alleged violations happened between November 2020 and March 2023.
Chistyakov’s role involved negotiating and processing orders from Russia buyers. Those orders were then filled by Kansas-based firm KanRus Trading Company, a company owned by Cyril Buyanovsky, the DOJ says.
Buyanovsky, a Kansas resident, already pleaded guilty to charges related to his role in the alleged scheme, as did another Kansas resident, Douglas Robertson.
They sought to conceal their operation by creating false invoices, by shipping products to “intermediary companies” and by shipping them through third-party countries like Germany, Laos and the United Arab Emirates. They also used bank accounts in countries including the UAE, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, says the DOJ.
Chistyakov faces a maximum five years in prison.
