A Montreal woman has pleaded guilty in the US to helping export weapons components to Russia

MONTREAL – United States prosecutors say a Montreal woman has pleaded guilty to being part of a scheme to illegally export millions of dollars worth of electronic components for military purposes to Russia.

Russian-Canadian Kristina Puzyreva pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

“As he admitted today, the defendant was a key part of a scheme to evade sanctions and later launder money from a scheme to ship (unmanned aerial vehicle) and missile components to Russia found on the battlefield in Ukraine,” prosecutor Breon Peace said. said in a press release.

U.S. authorities accused Puzyreva of buying American electronic components subject to export controls to Russia, along with her husband Nikolai Goltsev and Salimjon Nasriddinov, a citizen of Russia and Tajikistan who lives in New York, because of their civil-military connections. use.

Prosecutors say the scheme used a series of front companies to ship components through third countries to evade US sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

“Krystyna Puzyreva and her co-defendants are alleged to have purchased and shipped millions of dollars worth of US-sourced electronics to support the Kremlin in its ongoing attacks on Ukraine. “His money laundering conspiracy was directly related to the shipment of 298 restricted technology worth $7 million to the Russian battlefield,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Erin Keegan.

U.S. officials have announced that some of the electronic components were found in drones, missiles and signals intelligence devices seized on the battlefield in Ukraine.

During an October hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Artie McConnell testified in court that Goltsev received orders for electronic components from Russian military users and then bought those components from American companies, often under aliases.

It is assumed that Nasriddinov took the components and then returned to export.

Goltsev and Nasriddinov deny all the charges.

Puzyreva faces a total of nine charges, including wire fraud, wire fraud, smuggling and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Prosecutors have not yet submitted a sentencing recommendation to the court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on February 13, 2024.

Jacob Serebrin, The Canadian Press