A Russian-Canadian citizen has admitted he plotted to violate US sanctions by exporting $7 million worth of weapons to the Russian military for use in the war in Ukraine.
Kristina Puzyreva, 32, pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn court to money laundering as part of a shadowy global conspiracy to send technology to blacklisted entities in Moscow.
The exports included components used in unnamed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and guided missile systems later found to have been used in Ukraine.
Puzyreva, who lives in Montreal, now faces 20 years in prison. She was co-indicted along with her husband Nikolai Goltsev, 37, and Salimdzhon Nasriddinov, 52. She and her husband were both on a Ukrainian ‘death list’.
United States Attorney Breon Peace said Puzyreva admitted Monday that she was a “key part of the scheme.”
Kristina Puzyreva, 32, pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn court to money laundering as part of a shadowy global conspiracy to send technology to blacklisted entities in Moscow. (Pictured with co-suspect and husband Nikolai Goltsev, 37)
Puzyreva, who lives in Montreal, now faces 20 years in prison. She was charged along with her husband Nikolai Goltsev, 37, and Salimdzhon Nasriddinov, 52
United States Attorney Breon Peace said Puzyreva admitted Monday she was a “key part of the scheme”
“Today’s plea demonstrates that the Eastern District of New York will not allow criminals to jeopardize national security by supplying Russia with U.S. military technology,” he said.
Erin Keegan, acting special agent in charge of HSI New York, said Puzyreva’s conspiracy was “directly related to 298 shipments of restricted technology, valued at $7 million, to the Russian battlefield.”
Puzyreva laundered money as part of a sophisticated export control and sanctions evasion scheme involving SH Brothers Inc. (SH Brothers) and SN Electronics, Inc. (SN Electronics) were involved, two companies registered in Brooklyn, New York.
Through the corporate entities SH Brothers and SN Electronics, the defendant co-conspirators unlawfully sourced, purchased, and shipped millions of dollars worth of dual-use electronics from U.S. manufacturers to end users.
The components and integrated circuits were later discovered in Russian weapons platforms and signals intelligence equipment in Ukraine, including in UAVs and guided missiles.
Prosecutors said Nasriddinov, a Russian-Tajik national, was arrested in Brooklyn and thousands of semiconductors and other electronics were recovered from his home.
Goltsev and Puzyreva, married to Russian-Canadian citizens, were arrested at a Manhattan hotel during a trip to visit Nasriddinov, and about $20,000 in cash was recovered from them, according to prosecutors.
A Russian-Canadian citizen has admitted he plotted to violate US sanctions by exporting $7 million worth of weapons to the Russian military. (Image: Russian paratroopers march during the military parade at the 76th Guards Air Assault Division in Pskov, Russia, March 1, 2020)
This photo, taken on January 23, 2024, shows a missile launched from Russia’s Belgorod region flying towards Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Rescuers conduct search and rescue operations amid collapsed wall of residential building after Russian missile attack, on January 23, 2024 in Kharkiv, Ukraine
Authorities said they also seized more than $1.1 million from domestic bank accounts linked to the scheme.
The case is one of several being coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Task Force KleptoCapture, which was created to enforce sanctions, export restrictions and other measures in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. authorities said the scheme began in January 2022 and involved Brooklyn-based SH Brothers and SN Electronics in arranging the shipment of electronic components and integrated circuits after purchasing the equipment from U.S. companies.
Authorities said there were more than 300 illicit shipments worth about $10 million, with some of the electronics later recovered from helicopters, missiles, tanks and other Russian equipment seized in Ukraine.
According to the complaint, the defendants knew the electronics had military applications.
It said Nasriddinov once wrote to Goltsev “Happy Defender of the Fatherland,” prompting Goltsev to reply with a smile emoji and write, “we defend it the way we can.”
In another post, Goltsev was quoted as complaining to Puzyreva about pain in his fingers from typing account activities on his laptop, prompting his wife to respond: “A lot of money? We’ll be rich.’
The prosecution against the other suspects remains pending.