Russian arrested in US on charges of illegal microelectronics export

A Russian citizen, Denis Postovoy, of Sarasota, Florida, was arrested Monday, Sept. 16, on charges of illegally exporting microelectronics to Russia, the U.S. Department of Justice said. The components, which have military applications, were purchased by Postovoy from U.S. distributors and exported through a network of companies in Russia, Hong Kong and elsewhere in violation of U.S. export laws.

According to the Justice Department, Postovoy began his operations in February 2022, shortly after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The indictment alleges that without the necessary Commerce Department licenses, he exported dual-use microelectronics that could be used to make drones, sending the goods to intermediate locations including Hong Kong and Switzerland to disguise their final destination in Russia.

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“The defendant unlawfully exported dual-use technologies that could enhance Russia’s military capability to wage an unprovoked war against Ukraine,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves.

Postovoy’s network of companies, including Hong Kong-based WowCube HK Limited, JST Group Hong Kong, and Love HK Limited, as well as Russia’s Vector Group, falsified documents to mislead U.S. authorities about the end users and final destination of the goods.

This is not the only Russia-related charge announced by the Justice Department on Monday. The department also announced that Massachusetts resident Sam Bhambhani and Moscow resident Maxim Teslenko have been charged with smuggling laser equipment for the Russian nuclear industry. They are alleged to have conspired to export laser welding machines to Ural Electromechanical Plant, a subsidiary of Rosatom. The indictment alleges that Teslenko knew the equipment was intended to support Russia's nuclear weapons program.

Bhambhani was arrested on September 9, Teslenko remains at large abroad.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga