U.S. Residents Admit to Scheme to Send Aircraft Parts to Russia

The Department of Justice announced that two Russian nationals who are Florida residents pleaded guilty to conspiring to acquire and illegally export controlled aviation technology to Russia without a license, violating the Export Control Reform Act.

According to the DOJ, Oleg Sergeyevhich Patsulya and Vasilii Sergeyevich Besedin conspired to secure orders for aircraft components and parts from Russian buyers, the majority of which were commercial airline companies. The pair looked to obtain the parts, which included a Boeing 737’s carbon disc brake system, from U.S. suppliers and export them to Russia.