Latvian extradited to US in case of export of aircraft engines to Russia

In the US, 55-year-old Latvian citizen Oleg Chistyakov has appeared in COURT in a case of illegal supplies of aircraft engines to RUSSIA; he faces up to 20 years in prison. Moscow considers Western sanctions illegitimate

55-year-old Oleg Chistyakov was extradited from Latvia to the United States, he appeared before a federal court in a case of illegal supplies of complex aviation equipment to Russia, the press service of the US Department of Justice reported.

According to the department, the Latvian is the third defendant in the case of circumventing US sanctions. "Presumably, Chistyakov conspired with US citizens Kirill Buyanovsky and Douglas Edward Robertson from Kansas to facilitate the sale, repair and shipment of US-made aircraft engines to customers in Russia and other countries," the Justice Department said in a statement.

Chistyakov operated in Latvia and used his UAE company, RosAero FZC, to collaborate with Buyanovsky and Robertson and their firm, KanRus Trading Company Inc. (KanRus). The defendants attempted to conceal their illegal activities by creating fake invoices, shipping goods through third countries such as Germany and the UAE, using foreign bank accounts (in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and the UAE), and exporting goods to intermediaries, who then exported them to their final destinations, the Justice Department said. Many of the participants in the scheme have been added to the U.S. Commerce Department’s list of entities subject to special licensing requirements for transactions.

Buyanovsky and Robertson were arrested in March 2023, and both pleaded guilty. They are scheduled to be sentenced on November 14 and October 3, respectively. Chistyakov faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

At the end of 2023, four people were arrested in the United States in connection with the illegal supply of electronics to Russia worth more than $7 million. Among them were two Canadian citizens.

Russia considers Western sanctions illegitimate and demands that they be lifted. The Kremlin has stated that any restrictions also hurt the global economy.