Washington, Aug 29 (IANS) A Russian national living in Florida has been convicted of illegally exporting more than $900,000 in American aircraft components to Russia and its state-owned airline Aeroflot, the US Justice Department said.
A federal jury in the Southern District of Florida found Alexander Mamonov, 62, guilty on all 12 charges following a trial.
The charges included conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act, illegally exporting controlled goods, conspiracy to commit smuggling, smuggling, submitting false export information and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
US District Judge Kathleen Williams scheduled Mamonov’s sentencing for November 20. The Justice Department did not disclose the maximum penalties he could receive.
Prosecutors said Mamonov, a former Aeroflot employee, moved from Russia to South Florida before joining the export scheme.
He worked with Ignat Vakorin, a Russian national who remains a fugitive, to obtain aircraft parts from suppliers in the United States and transport them to Russia, according to the department of justice.
The two men were charged together in April 2025.
The scheme began after the United States tightened controls on exports to Russia following Moscow’s expanded invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to court documents and testimony cited by prosecutors.
The Commerce Department had also issued a temporary denial order barring Aeroflot from receiving goods originating in the United States.
Prosecutors said Mamonov and Vakorin concealed the final destination of the parts by telling American suppliers that the components would be shipped to countries including China and the United Arab Emirates.
The aircraft parts were instead sent to Russia and Aeroflot, the Justice Department said.
“Mamonov illegally exported nearly one million dollars of aviation parts to Russia by lying to US suppliers about their destination, and this conviction on all counts holds him accountable,” said Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division.
Rozhavsky said the FBI would continue prioritising enforcement of sanctions and export-control laws.
“Let this verdict serve as a warning to anyone considering smuggling US technology to our adversaries,” he said.
US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones said the verdict demonstrated that efforts to evade export controls through third countries would still be prosecuted.
“Russia cannot evade American sanctions and export controls by routing its purchases through South Florida,” he said.
“You cannot put a fake destination on a shipping label and make American export laws disappear,” Quiñones added.
The prosecutor said Mamonov had used false destinations and financial transactions to conceal the export of nearly $1 million in aircraft parts.
Washington imposed extensive export restrictions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. The controls cover aircraft, aviation components and other products that US officials say could support Russian military capabilities or strategically important industries.
--IANS
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