US charges five for illegal Russia rifle scope/night goggle exports
The US Department of Justice says that a federal grand jury in Los Angeles unsealed an indictment on 21 June that accuses ‘five defendants of conspiring to unlawfully export defense articles to Russia.’ It says that they ‘allegedly exported thermal imaging riflescopes and night-vision goggles without a license, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act.’
Court documents show that Elena Shifrin ( 59) of Mundelein, Illinois, and Vladimir Pridacha (55) of Volo, Illinois, ‘were arrested June 17 for their roles in a nearly four-year scheme in which the defendants purchased dozens of thermal imaging devices, most of which cost between $5,000 and $10,000 and are controlled by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, from sellers across the United States.’
The indictment says the defendants ‘allegedly obtained many of the items using aliases, falsely assuring the sellers that they would not export the items from the United States. The thermal imaging devices were then exported to co-conspirators in Russia using aliases and false addresses to conceal their activities.’
It says: ‘As alleged, the defendants hid the thermal imaging devices among other non-export-controlled items when exporting them to Russia, and they falsely stated on export declarations that the contents of their exports were non-export-controlled items with values of less than $2,500. In no case did any of the defendants obtain the required export licenses to export defense articles to Russia.’
