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US accuses five Russians of unlawfully procuring electronic components for Russia

They could face up to 30 years in prison

NEW YORK, December 14. /TASS/. The United States has filed charges against seven people, five of them citizens of Russia, of purchasing electronic components and equipment for Russia’s defense industry, bypassing US sanctions, the US Department of Justice has said.

"According to the indictment, the defendants unlawfully purchased and exported highly sensitive and heavily regulated electronic components, some of which can be used in the development of nuclear and hypersonic weapons, quantum computing and other military applications," the department said.

Among the defendants are five citizens of Russia (Yevgeniy Grinin, Aleksey Ippolitov, Boris Livshits, Svetlana Skvortsova and Vadim Konoshchenok), and two US residents - Alexey Brayman and Vadim Yermolenko. They are suspected of having ties with Moscow-based companies Serniya Engineering and Sertal, allegedly controlled by Russian special services. The US also suspects Konoshchenok of being an agent of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

"As alleged, the defendants perpetrated a sophisticated procurement network that illegally obtained sensitive US technology to facilitate the Russian war machine," the statement quoted US Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York as saying.

On Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce temporarily suspended export privileges of three individuals and two legal entities for unauthorized exports of ‘sensitive items’ to Russia, the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said in a statement. The export privileges were suspended for the period of 180 days. The US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on Serniya Engineering and Sertal in March.

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