The United States arrested two Russian nationals, Oleg Patsulya and Vasilii Besedin, last week on charges of sending aircraft parts to Russia in violation of US export controls and international money laundering, according to court filings
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th May, 2023) The United States arrested two Russian nationals, Oleg Patsulya and Vasilii Besedin, last week on charges of sending aircraft parts to Russia in violation of US export controls and international money laundering, according to court filings.
"This application sets forth probable cause that between at least May 2022 and continuing to on or about May 11, 2023, defendants OLEG SERGEYEVICH PATSULYA ('PATSULYA') and VASILII SERGEYEVICH BESEDIN, AKA VASILIY BESEDIN ('BESEDIN'), both Russian nationals living in the United States, conspired with each other and with others to send aircraft parts from the United States to Russia in violation of export laws and regulations and also to launder payments for those parts from Russia into the United States," Justin Kent, a special agent for the US Department of Commerce, said in a court complaint.
According to the complaint, Patsulya and Besedin, together with others, carried out a scheme by fielding requests and orders for parts from various Russian airlines, including those that have had their export privileges denied by the US following the beginning of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.
The two allegedly sought to acquire the requested parts from aircraft-parts suppliers, including those located in the United States, by falsely representing to US suppliers and customs agents and law enforcement officers that their customers were entities other than Russian airlines, such as companies operating out of Turkey, the complaint said.
The defendants used intermediary companies as straw buyers and transshipped the aircraft parts through third-party countries, including Turkey and the Maldives, the complaint stated.
Patsulya and Besedin laundered payments for these parts from Russian accounts into bank accounts they controlled in the US, the documents said. They used the funds not to only purchase the parts but also for personal enrichment, including to fund lavish purchases, such as a 2023 BMW 740i and a 2007 SEA Ray Sundancer 380 Cruiser, the complaint alleged.
Last week, the Miami Herald reported that the FBI had raided a Florida condo owned by two Russian businessmen at the Trump Towers on Sunny Beach Isles. The unit is owned by the shell company MIC-USA LLC, which is allegedly controlled by Patsulya and Agunda Makeeva.
