The sale of American technology to Russia leads to a conspiracy plea from a Kansas businessman
TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas businessman pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal criminal charges stemming from what prosecutors described as a conspiracy to illegally export aviation-related technology to Russia, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit crimes against the U.S. and a single count of conspiracy to launder illegal international money, court records show. His sentencing is set for March 21 and he faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Buyanovsky also agreed to allow the U.S. government to seize $450,000 in equipment and $50,000 in personal property. The equipment consisted of a pallet of aviation-related devices that had been blocked for export the day before Buyanovsky was arrested along with business partner Douglas Edward Robertson in March.
Their arrests came as the US increased sanctions and financial penalties against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Along with thousands of sanctions on people and companies, export controls were intended to limit Russia's access to computer chips and other products needed for survival. equip a modern army.
A Washington attorney representing Buyanovsky, Aitan D. Goelman, declined comment when reached by phone after Tuesday's hearing before U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree in Kansas City, Kansas.
Buyanovsky, 60, and Robertson, 56, jointly operated the KanRus Trading Co. Prosecutors said the company supplied avionics to Russian companies and offered repair services for equipment used in Russian-made aircraft.
Kate Brubacher, the U.S. attorney for Kansas, said in a statement that Buyanovsky and Robertson showed they “value greed and profit over freedom and justice.”
Buyanovsky is from Lawrence, Kansas, about 40 miles west of Kansas City and home to the main campus of the University of Kansas. Robertson, the company's vice president, is from the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, Kansas.
A federal grand jury indictment charged the two men with 26 crimes, including conspiracy, exporting controlled goods without a license, falsifying and failing to file electronic export information, and smuggling goods in violation of U.S. law. The indictment alleges that since 2020, the business associates have conspired to evade U.S. export control laws by concealing and misrepresenting the true end users and destinations of their exports and by shipping equipment through third countries.
Robertson was scheduled to appear before another judge in Kansas City, Kansas, on Wednesday morning to enter a plea to the charges against him.
Prosecutors said he, Buyanovsky and other conspirators lied to U.S. suppliers; goods shipped through intermediary companies in Armenia, Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates; false export forms filed with the U.S. government; and used foreign bank accounts outside Russia to send money from Russian customers to KanRus in the US
“Today's guilty plea demonstrates the Justice Department's commitment to cutting off Moscow from the means to feed its military and holding those who enable it to do so accountable in court,” said the U.S. assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said in a statement.