MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - U.S. authorities have foiled an attempt by a dual U.S.-Russian citizen to illegally export two small aircraft to Russia.
Sergey Nechaev was arrested Monday in the Southern District of Georgia on charges of unlawful attempted export of controlled goods, smuggling and falsifying export information, the Justice Department said.
If convicted, Nechaev faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The aircraft will also be subject to forfeiture. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
According to the indictment, to evade U.S. export control laws, Nechaev attempted to smuggle two Cessna aircraft from the United States to Russia by transshipping them through Armenia. The U.S. government imposed stricter controls on Russia in February 2022 after it attacked Ukraine.
Nechaev attempted to export a 1968 Cessna 172K and a 1973 Cessna, valued together at approximately $170,000, to a purported Russian flight school, without the required license or authorization from the Department of Commerce. To conceal the true end user and destination of the aircraft, Nechaev falsely represented that the end user and destination were in Armenia, the Justice Department said.
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