On June 17, 2021, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California unsealed an indictment that accuses five defendants of having conspired to unlawfully export thermal imaging riflescopes and night-visions goggles to Russia. All five defendants are charged with conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The defendants could face an additional five years in prison for allegedly conspiring to smuggle thermal imaging devices from the U.S. and conspiring to file false export information in order to conceal their activities.

The five defendants allegedly participated in a nearly four-year scheme purchasing dozens of thermal imaging devices – which cost between $5,000 and $10,000 and are controlled by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) – from a variety of sellers across the United States. The indictment states that the individuals used aliases to obtain the devices, hid the thermal imaging devices among other non-export-controlled items when exporting them to Russia, and falsely declared that the contents of their exports were non-export-controlled items valued at less than $2,500. In no case did any of the defendants obtain a required export license to export defense articles to Russia.

The Press Release is available here.

For more information on actions related to Russia and ITAR, contact our team and see previous posts below.

UPDATE: Export Control Agencies Coordinated Response Target Russia for Prohibited Chemical Weapon Activities | International Trade Law (cmtradelaw.com)

DDTC Issues 2nd Extension to Certain Temporary Suspensions, Modifications, and Exceptions to ITAR Due to COVID-19 | International Trade Law (cmtradelaw.com)

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Photo of Chandler Leonard Chandler Leonard

Chandler S. Leonard is an associate in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm’s International Trade Group. Chandler’s practice focuses on export controls and economic sanctions issues, including voluntary disclosures and enforcement matters before the Departments of Commerce…

Chandler S. Leonard is an associate in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm’s International Trade Group. Chandler’s practice focuses on export controls and economic sanctions issues, including voluntary disclosures and enforcement matters before the Departments of Commerce, State, and Treasury. Chandler has experience analyzing and advising U.S. and non-U.S. companies with respect to proposed transfers of U.S. origin technology, software, hardware, and services. She has performed jurisdictional and classification analyses under the ITAR and EAR, including drafting Commodity Jurisdiction requests and CJ Reconsideration requests. She assists in developing and/or reviewing U.S. export and sanctions compliance programs, including risk assessments. Chandler also has experience training a wide variety of audiences, both U.S. and foreign, on compliance with U.S. export control and sanctions requirements.

Photo of Edward Goetz Edward Goetz

Edward Goetz is the Director for International Trade Services in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office. Edward leads the firm’s international trade analysts providing practice support to the International Trade Group in the areas of customs regulations, trade remedies, trade policy, export control…

Edward Goetz is the Director for International Trade Services in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office. Edward leads the firm’s international trade analysts providing practice support to the International Trade Group in the areas of customs regulations, trade remedies, trade policy, export control, economic sanctions, anti-money laundering (AML), anti-corruption/anti-bribery, and antiboycott. He has extensive government experience providing information and interpretive guidance on the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) concerning the export of defense articles, defense services, and related technical data. He also assists attorneys with matters involving the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), economic sanctions, AML, anti-corruption/anti-bribery, and trade remedies.