• In total 5 Russians and 2 American are accused by the US.
• “will not tolerate criminal schemes” – General attorney.
• criminals can face upto 30 years of jail.

US charges five Russians and two Americans of conspiring to launder money and conduct business on behalf of the Moscow government.

According to the justice department, they were accused of attempting to buy dual-use, military-grade technologies from US companies for Russia’s defence industry.

They may have also planned to evade US sanctions by smuggling sniper ammo.

It is believed that one of the Russians works for the Federal Security Service (FSB).

Both the suspects and the Russian authorities have remained silent regarding the probe thus far. Four of the Russians are still at large, while three of the group are in police custody.

The US Department of Justice said that a 16-count indictment was unsealed on Tuesday in New York City’s Brooklyn Federal Court.

The paper claims that the defendants illegally acquired and exported highly regulated, highly sensitive electronic components, some of which can be utilised to create nuclear and hypersonic missiles, quantum computing, and other military uses.

According to US Attorney General Merrick Garland, his office and the country’s allies “will not tolerate criminal schemes to support the Russian military’s war activities.” This was a reference to Vladimir Putin of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

The procurement network allegedly utilised by the defendants and Russian intelligence agencies to bring sniper rifle ammo and sensitive technological components into Russia has been destroyed, Mr. Garland claimed, with three of the defendants now in detention.

All five defendants were mentioned in the indictment, including 48-year-old Vadim Konoshchenok, who was allegedly an FSB officer. He is being held in Estonia and is being sought for extradition to the US.

It was claimed that Mr. Konoshchenok, a resident of St. Petersburg, Russia, “would physically transport or ship US-origin goods from Estonia to Russia, including dual-use electronics, military-grade tactical ammunition, and other export-controlled goods.”

The defendants could spend up to 30 years in jail if found guilty. Russians Yevgeniy Grinin, Aleksey Ippolitov, Boris Livshits, and Svetlana Skvortsova, as well as two Americans, Alexey Brayman and Vadim Yermolenko, were listed as the other participants.

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