WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd September, 2021) The US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia sentenced Russian national Oleg Nikitin to 28 months in prison for violating US export regulations, his lawyer Alexey Tarasov told Sputnik.
"Today in Savannah, Georgia, a Federal judge imposed the sentence of 28 months on Oleg Nikitin from St. Petersburg, Russia, which essentially amounts to the sentence that Mr. Nikitin has already served," Tarasov said on Wednesday. "The judge also signed an order for judicial removal, which entails Nikitin's deportation from the United States as soon as he completes his sentence, which should be very, very soon."
Tarasov expressed hope his client will be able to return to Russia very soon.
"I imagine that we are talking about a few weeks - just to make the arrangements for his travel," he said.
Tarasov added that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will facilitate the travel arrangements.
In addition to the imposing a prison term, the judge also imposed on Nikitin a fine of $5,000 and a monetary assessment of $100, Tarasov noted.
During the sentencing, Nikitin expressed regrets about the actions he took.
"I apologize for my actions. I have enough time to think about what was happened to me," he said in English.
Nikitin has pleaded guilty to charges of violating US export regulations in March. He faced up to five years in prison and a significant financial penalty.
The US Justice Department said earlier that Nikitin was a general director of the St. Petersburg-based energy company KS Engineering (KSE) and conspired with his business partner Anton Cheremukhin as well three foreign nationals to purchase a US-made power turbine worth $17.3 million in violation of US trade regulations. The turbine was to be employed on a Russian Arctic deep water drilling platform, the Justice Department said.
