NEW YORK, October 20. /TASS/. A US court charged three Latvian citizens and one Ukrainian with an attempt to export dual-purpose technologies to Russia, the US Department of Justice said in a statement.

According to court documents, beginning in 2018, Latvian citizens Eriks Mamonovs and Vadims Ananics, who operated Latvia-based corporation CNC Weld, conspired with Stanislav Romanyuk, a citizen of Ukraine and resident of Estonia who operated Estonia-based BY Trade OU to smuggle a jig grinder that was manufactured in Connecticut to Russia.

"The indictment alleges that these defendants attempted to smuggle a high-precision export-controlled item to Russia where it could have been used in nuclear proliferation and Russian defense programs," said US Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery of the District of Connecticut.

According to the US prosecution, the case also involved unnamed "individuals in Russia and a Russia-based company."

The jig grinder was intercepted by the US authorities in Riga. Ananics, Mamonovs and Uzbalis were arrested on October 18 in Riga at the request of the United States. Romanyuk was arrested in Tallinn on June 13, 2022. The Justice Department is seeking their extradition.

The four individuals have been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison; violation of the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA), which carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison; smuggling goods from the United States, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison; and international money laundering conspiracy, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Mamonovs is also charged with making false statements to the U.S. Department of Commerce, an offense punishable by up to five years in prison.

Earlier on Wednesday, the US has charged five Russian nationals and two oil traders that are Venezuelan nationals with sanctions evasion and money laundering. Under a 12-count indictment, charges were filed against Russia’s Yury Orekhov, Artem Uss, Svetlana Kuzurgasheva, Timofey Telegin and Sergey Tulyakov, and Venezuelan oil traders Juan Fernando Serrano Ponce and Juan Carlos Soto. According to the Department of Justice, Artem Uss is the son of Alexander Uss, the governor of Russia’s Krasnoyarsk Region.The statement alleged that the defendants were involved in "orchestrating a complex scheme to unlawfully obtain US military technology and Venezuelan sanctioned oil."

According to the Department of Justice, Orekhov and Uss were detained in Germany and Italy, respectively, on October 17 and will undergo extradition proceedings. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum of 30 years’ imprisonment.