Petrov Artur

Petrov Artur

Biography

2023: Arrest on charges of illegally exporting microelectronics

On August 31, 2023, the US Department of Justice announced the arrest in Cyprus of Russian Arthur Petrov, who is accused of supplying American microelectronics to Russia, bypassing sanctions.

Petrov, 33, has dual Russian and German citizenship. The criminal case was initiated on suspicion of violations of export control, smuggling, fraud using electronic communications and money laundering. According to the case file, the man entered into a conspiracy to smuggle American microelectronic technologies with a military purpose into Russia.

The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts to circumvent export control laws to fuel the Russian military industry, and those who try to do so will not find asylum from US justice, the agency said in an official statement.

Petrov, according to US law enforcement, participated in an international illegal procurement network based in Russia using shell companies. Shipments of microelectronic products were allegedly carried out through intermediary countries in order to hide the final buyer. Petrov is said to work for Electrocom, a Russian supplier of critical electronic components to weapons and other equipment manufacturers. The ministry said that the man, together with two accomplices, fraudulently purchased products worth more than $225 thousand from American distributors and sent them to Russia.

The electronics Petrov purchased as part of the conspiracy include, among other things, microcontrollers and integrated circuits that are on the Commerce Department Checklist and cannot be legally exported or re-exported to Russia without a license. Petrov has been charged with several counts that range from 5 to 20 years in prison. ^[1]]

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