Two plead guilty to exporting U.S. electronics used in Russian weapons

A Canadian national and a New York resident pleaded guilty on Tuesday to illegally exporting millions of dollars worth of US electronics that were used in Russian weapons in Ukraine, the Justice Department said.

Nikolay Goltsev, 38, of Montreal, and Salimdzhon Nasriddinov, 53, of Brooklyn, face up to 20 years in prison for conspiring to commit export control violations, the department said in a statement.

"The defendants shipped millions of dollars of U.S. electronics critical to the missiles and drones Russia uses to attack Ukraine, and they now face U.S. prison time for their scheme," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said.

"As Russia continues to wage its unjust war of aggression against Ukraine, the department remains committed to holding accountable those who fuel Putin's war machine."

According to court documents, Goltsev, Nasriddinov and Goltsev's wife, Kristina Puzyreva, who pleaded guilty in February, conspired to ship more than $7 million in dual-use US electronics to sanctioned Russian companies.

"Some of these components were critical to Russia's precision-guided weapons systems being used against Ukraine," the Justice Department said.

Nasriddinov and Goltsev shipped the components through front companies in several countries, including Turkey, India, China and the United Arab Emirates, from where they were rerouted to Russia.

Goltsev, a dual Russian-Canadian national, and Nasriddinov, a dual Russian-Tajik national, are to be sentenced in a federal court in New York in December.

Puzyreva is awaiting sentencing.