In the United States of America, two Russian citizens are accused of illegally exporting aviation components that were subject to the sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation.

According to an official statement from the public prosecutor responsible for Florida, the two suspected perpetrators are said to have already confessed. The procedure was actually quite simple: spare parts for the Boeing 737, for example, were purchased through dummy companies. These were then declared for export to states that were not participating in the sanctions and through these the components then reached the Russian Federation. For example, constructions in Turkey are said to have acted as shell companies.

According to official statements, the two Russian citizens living in the United States of America had many “customers”. The primary delivery would have been to commercial airlines based in the Russian Federation. The men are accused of violating US export law in connection with sanctions against Russia. One of the two is also facing criminal charges of money laundering. According to the public prosecutor's office, the alleged perpetrators have fully confessed.

The activities of the accused remained unnoticed for a long period of time, because as early as May 2022 they were said to have specialized in circumventing US sanctions against Russia. A shipment containing carbon brakes for the Boeing 737 was their downfall. These were declared for export to Turkey. During an inspection it turned out that the necessary export license was not available and there were further discrepancies regarding the actual existence of the supposed recipient in Turkey. This was followed by confiscation by the US authorities. According to reports, these components had already been paid for in advance by a Russian airline.

The US law enforcement authorities have also determined that Turkish credit institutions acted as willing helpers. According to this, at least 4.582.288 US dollars are said to have been transferred by Russian carriers via bank accounts held in Turkey to accounts in the USA that could be attributed to the alleged perpetrators.

The two Russians must appear in court in the USA on June 17, 2024. If convicted, the penalty is up to 20 years in prison. The prosecutor's office believes that a major blow would have been achieved against the illegal export of aircraft parts to the Russian Federation.

In reality, however, it is probably just a proverbial drop in the ocean, because brisk trade is flourishing through shell companies in Turkey, China, the United Arab Emirates and other states that are not participating in the sanctions against Russia with spare parts for Russian airlines. It is possible that its ally Iran could also have provided corresponding “development aid”, as the isolated regime has decades of experience in procuring spare parts and aircraft through “unofficial” channels and various “middlemen”.