Douglas Edward Robertson, 56, the former vice president of KanRus Trading Company Inc., has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a years-long conspiracy to illegally export sophisticated U.S. avionics equipment to Russia. This illegal activity continued even after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, violating U.S. export controls and sanctions.
Illegal Export Scheme and Guilty Plea by Douglas Edward Robertson
Douglas Edward Robertson admitted to participating in a scheme to smuggle avionics equipment to Russia by falsifying export documents, concealing the true nature and destination of the shipments. From 2020 until his arrest in March 2023, he conspired with others, including co-defendants Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky of Lawrence, Kansas, and Oleg Chistyakov of Riga, Latvia, to circumvent U.S. export laws. This entailed falsifying export forms regarding the value, end users, and final destinations of the avionics equipment.
In a notable incident in 2021, Douglas Edward Robertson and his conspirators smuggled a repaired Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), despite the FSB being sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control for interfering in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. They took off the FSB sticker from the device before sending it to a U.S. company for repairs, then exported it back to the FSB.
Continued Violations Post-Invasion
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. government tightened export controls concerning Russia. Despite these measures, Douglas Edward Robertson and his co-conspirators continued their illegal activities. They lied to U.S. suppliers about the intended end users, shipped goods through intermediary companies in countries like Armenia, Laos, the United Arab Emirates, and Cyprus, and used foreign bank accounts to promote their illegal exports.
Their actions included filing false export forms, using intermediary companies to disguise the true destinations of the avionics equipment, and employing foreign bank accounts in Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, and the Czech Republic to facilitate the transactions.
Law Enforcement Response and Penalties
The FBI and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement led the investigation, with assistance from Latvian authorities. U.S. Customs and Border Protection also provided substantial support. The investigation was coordinated through Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing sanctions, export controls, and economic countermeasures imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen stated that Douglas Edward Robertson, by his own admission, had conspired to sell advanced U.S. avionics equipment to customers in Russia in violation of U.S. law. It was emphasized that the Justice Department would not tolerate those who seek to undermine the effectiveness of export controls designed to protect critical U.S. technology and discourage Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
The efforts of federal investigators and prosecutors were praised by U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher for the District of Kansas, who stated that Douglas Edward Robertson’s guilty plea reflected the strong evidence gathered against him by federal investigators and the solid case presented by federal prosecutors.
The national security risks posed by such illegal activities were emphasized by Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch. It was stated that those who seek to profit by illegally selling sophisticated U.S. technology to adversaries are putting the national security of the country at risk, and this cannot be tolerated.
Co-Defendants and Sentencing
In December 2023, Buyanovsky, the former president and owner of KanRus, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering and agreed to forfeit over $450,000 worth of avionics equipment and accessories, along with a $50,000 personal forfeiture judgment. Chistyakov, a former KanRus broker, was arrested in Riga, Latvia, in March 2023 and remains detained pending extradition proceedings.
Douglas Edward Robertson is facing severe penalties for his actions, which include a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy count, along with 20 years each for two counts under the Export Control Reform Act and another 20 years for the money laundering charge. The date for his sentencing hearing is set for October 3rd.
The case highlights the U.S. government’s commitment to enforcing export controls and sanctions, protecting national security, and holding individuals accountable for illegal activities that threaten the country’s technological edge and international stability.
