Current:Home > MarketsKansas businessman pleads guilty in case over illegal export of aviation technology to Russia -Blueprint Wealth Network
Kansas businessman pleads guilty in case over illegal export of aviation technology to Russia
View
Date:2025-04-19 04:18:48
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas businessman has pleaded guilty to illegally exporting sensitive aviation technology to Russian companies in violation of U.S. sanctions.
Douglas Edward Robertson, who lives in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, was the second Kansas business executive to plead guilty to charges after being accused of smuggling, money laundering, violating U.S. export regulations, submitting false or misleading information to export regulators and conspiring to commit crimes against the U.S., all for profit. Their arrests and the arrest of a Latvian associate in March 2023 came as the U.S. ramped up sanctions and financial penalties on Russia over its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Robertson, 56, entered his plea Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree in Kansas City. The judge set his sentencing for Oct. 3. Robertson pleaded guilty to four of the 26 counts against him and could face up to 20 years in prison for either the money laundering or export violations convictions.
According to prosecutors, starting in October 2020, the defendants sought to sell electronics that included threat detection systems and flight, navigation and communications controls, to two Russian aircraft parts distributors, a Russian aircraft repair firm and a Russian aircraft services company. They sought to hide their unlicensed activities by going through companies and using bank accounts elsewhere, including Armenia, Cyprus, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the United Arab Emirates.
“Those who seek to profit by illegally selling sophisticated U.S. technology to our adversaries are putting the national security of our country at risk,” Robert Wells, the executive assistant director of the FBI’s National Security Branch, said in a statement.
One of Robertson’s attorneys, Branden Bell, declined to comment when reached Wednesday.
U.S. export controls were meant to limit Russia’s access to computer chips and other products needed to equip a modern military. The indictment against Robertson said the electronics he and the other two men sought to export “could make a significant contribution” to another nation’s military.
Robertson, a commercial pilot, and Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, an aviation engineer from Lawrence, operated the KanRus Trading Co. together and worked with Oleg Chistyakov, a Latvian citizen who frequently traveled to the UAE, according to prosecutors.
Buyanovsky pleaded guilty in December to one count of conspiring to launder money and one count of conspiring to commit crimes against the U.S., and his sentencing is set for Nov. 14. There is no indication of whether Chistyakov has been taken into custody, and he has yet to enter a plea, according to online court records.
The indictment charging the three men lists nine exports of aviation electronics to Russian companies from February 2021 through December 2022 and attempts to export electronics once in February 2022 and twice in March 2023.
Prosecutors have said the U.S. government seized $450,000 in electronics blocked from export the day before Buyanovsky and Robertson were arrested.
“Robertson’s guilty plea is reflective of the strong evidence gathered against him by federal investigators and the solid case presented by federal prosecutors,” Kate E. Brubacher, the chief federal prosecutor in Kansas, said in a statement.
veryGood! (9823)
Related
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- Highly pathogenic avian flu detected at Alabama chicken farm, nearly 48K birds killed
- Foundation will continue Matthew Perry's work helping those struggling with 'the disease of addiction'
- Spanish league slams racist abuse targeting Vinícius Júnior during ‘clasico’ at Barcelona
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Mississippi has a history of voter suppression. Many see signs of change as Black voters reengage
- Russia opens a vast national exposition as presidential election approaches
- 'There's an end to every story': Joey Votto reflects on his Reds career at end of an era
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- 'Wait Wait' for November 4, 2023: With Not My Job guest Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant
Ranking
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- French power supplier says technician killed as it battles damage from Storm Ciarán
- These Celebrity Bromances Will Brighten Your Weekend
- Foundation will continue Matthew Perry's work helping those struggling with 'the disease of addiction'
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Skeleton marching bands and dancers in butterfly skirts join in Mexico City’s Day of the Dead parade
- Winners and losers of college football's Week 10: Georgia, Oklahoma State have big days
- A science experiment in the sky attempts to unravel the mysteries of contrails
Recommendation
Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
Judge in Trump fraud trial issues new gag order on attorneys after dispute over clerk
Summer House's Carl Radke Defends Decision to Call Off Wedding to Lindsay Hubbard
Real Housewives of Orange County’s Shannon Beador Breaks Silence on DUI Arrest Sentencing
House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
Mahomes throws 2 TDs and Chiefs hang on to beat Dolphins 21-14 in Germany
Bleach can cause your hair to break off. Here's how to lighten your hair without it.
Women’s lawsuit accuses Kansas City, Kansas, of allowing police corruption to thrive for years