After being accused of evading the Kremlin’s technology export controls, a dual citizen of Germany and Russia appeared for the first time in a US court.
Arthur Petrov, 33, was removed from Cyprus subsequent to being arrested there on August 26 last year. He’s accused of various offenses connected with send out control violations, smuggling, wire fraud and money laundering, which convey a consolidated greatest punishment of more than 150 years in the slammer.
Petrov is said to work for Electrocom, a Russia-based importer of electronics for manufacturers supplying weaponry and equipment to the Russian military.
Along with co-conspirators, he allegedly purchased large quantities of microcontrollers, integrated circuits and other electronics components that are listed on a Commerce Department Control List. The list is designed to ensure that only items that have been granted a license by the department can be exported to Russia.
Nonetheless, Petrov is said to have utilized n network of shell organizations and other “deceptive means” to hide the destination of his exports from the US. He obviously purchased the things by means of a Cyprus-based shell organization, Astrafteros, and guaranteed to US exporters that he was buying them for ‘fire security systems,’ saying they were bound for Cyprus and other third countries.
As a matter of fact, they were bound to be involved by Russian arms makers in directed rockets, drones and electronic fighting and specialized gadgets on the combat zone in Ukraine, as per the Branch of Equity (DoJ).
It was alleged that Petrov and his two accomplices purchased and shipped to Russia, sometimes via multiple third countries, more than $225,000 worth of controlled electronic components with military applications.
The Cypriot justice minister gave the removal request on July 18 and Petrov showed up at a government court on August 9.
Lisa Monaco, deputy attorney general, stated, “Today’s extradition demonstrates the Justice Department’s enduring commitment to cutting Russia off from the western technologies that fuel President Putin’s war machine.”
“Together with global partners, the department’s Disruptive Technology Strike Force and Task Force KleptoCapture will vigorously investigate and prosecute efforts to evade the global sanctions and export controls imposed to counter Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine,” she said. “The defendant’s extradition is a vital step towards holding Russia accountable, and I am grateful to our Cypriot partners for their assistance in this matter.”
