(Reuters) – A Russian nationwide residing in Sarasota, Florida, was arrested on Monday on expenses of smuggling, cash laundering and illegally exporting to Russia expertise that could possibly be utilized in drone manufacturing, the U.S. Division of Justice stated.
The indictment alleges that following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Denis Postovoy, 44, procured and illicitly exported to Russia microelectronic elements with navy purposes that could possibly be utilized in drones, the DOJ stated in a press release on its web site.
“According to the indictment, this defendant illegally exported dual-use technology to Russia that could bolster its capabilities to wage its unprovoked war against Ukraine,” U.S. Legal professional Matthew Graves stated within the assertion.
The Russian embassy in the US stated on the Telegram messaging app that it was conscious of Postovoy’s detention, however that it has not “received any official notification of the arrest from local law enforcement agencies.”
Postovoy allegedly operated via a community of corporations in Russia and Hong Kong to buy elements from U.S. distributors and ship them to Russia utilizing middleman locations to hide the shipments’ remaining vacation spot, the DOJ stated.