Signage is seen on the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., August 29, 2020.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
WASHINGTON — Two Americans and five Russian residents were indicted in indictment unopened The Justice Department said on Tuesday that it operates a sophisticated international smuggling ring that procures U.S. military technology and munitions on behalf of the Kremlin.
The network was allegedly arrange in 2017 to avoid US sanctions and export controls in place on the time. Further sanctions were imposed on Russia by the Biden administration after it invaded Ukraine in February.
Three of the seven defendants are in custody, the Justice Department said in a statement. Amongst them is a suspected Russian intelligence officer, Vadim Konoshchenok, who was detained in Estonia last week on the request of the US.
Two US residents, Alexei Brayman and Vadim Yermolenko, were detained on Tuesday.
“With the three defendants now in custody, we disrupted a supply network allegedly utilized by the defendants and Russian intelligence services to smuggle sniper rifle ammunition and sensitive electronic components into Russia,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
The network was allegedly still operational in late November, when the Department of Justice says Konoshchenok was detained on the Estonian-Russian border with “about 20 crates containing 1000’s of U.S.-origin bullets, including tactical and .338 caliber military sniper bullets.”
Cut off from military suppliers in the US and Europe, Russia is struggling to produce enough ammunition to equip its troops in eastern Ukraine.
According to a newly opened indictment, members of the so-called “Serniya network” created dozens of cover-ups to hide thousands and thousands of dollars in payments for military technology. After purchasing the products, they were allegedly routed through multiple countries in Europe, Asia and North America before reaching their final destination in Russia.
A letter from prosecutors on Tuesday asking for bail standards for two US defendants underscored the seriousness of the alleged crimes.
“The alleged crimes are extremely serious.” wrote U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. “The defendants are accused of being involved in international fraud, money laundering and sanctions evasion controlled by a foreign power that’s actively involved in armed conflict.”