The Department of Justice has charged two Virginia executives with selling millions of dollars in illegal U.S. exports to Russian customers. Oleg Nayandin, 54, of Fairfax, and Vitaliy Borisenko, 39, of Vienna, allegedly ran an e-commerce site between March 2022 and June 2023 that allowed Russian customers to order technology directly from U.S. retailers. To bypass regulations, the executives allegedly shipped the items through Turkey, Finland, and Kazakhstan in an attempt to conceal the final destination of the goods.
Assistant Secretary of Commerce Matthew Axelrod said, “This company allegedly used not one, not two, but three different schemes to illegally transship sensitive American technology to Russia.”
According to the investigation, the defendants administered an online store that allowed Russian customers to order products directly from American suppliers. The goods were delivered to a warehouse in Virginia and then sent to alleged end users in the three countries. Ultimately, however, the goods were received by customers from Russia, with Nayandin and Borisenko allegedly misleading the authorities and freight forwarders.
Illegal exports to Russia detailed
As part of their Turkish scheme, the defendants reportedly exported $1.48 million worth of telecommunications equipment intended for the Russian Federal Security Bureau. The Ministry of Justice stated that these products were later used by the Russian military to expand communication networks during the invasion of Ukraine.
Under the Finnish scheme, Russia received $3.45 million worth of weapons production goods, such as electronic components used in kamikaze drones. Under the third scheme, U.S. dual-use goods worth $1.47 million were sent to a Kazakh company that advertised services for delivering equipment to Russia. If convicted, Nayandin and Borisenko face a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
The charges against both the company and the two top executives are a prime example of the Department of Justice’s work to bring to justice those alleged to have circumvented U.S. rules in search of a larger profit.
