WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2019) The United States has charged Alexander Korshunov, head manager of Russian state corporation Rostec's subsidiary United Engine Corp., with conspiring to steal trade secrets from an American aviation company, the Justice Department said in a press release on Thursday.
"A Russian national and an Italian national have been charged in the United States with conspiring and attempting to steal trade secrets from an American aviation company," the release said.
The Justice Department noted that Korshunov was arrested on August 30 at the Naples International Airport in Italy after being charged under a sealed US criminal complaint on August 21. "The complaint was unsealed today," it added.
The former manager of an Italian subsidiary of GE Aviation, Maurizio Bianchi, was charged in the alleged conspiracy along with the Russian citizen.
The complaint alleges that Bianchi, acting on behalf of Korshunov between 2012 and 2018, hired his current or former GE employees "to do consulting work consulting work related to jet engine accessory gearboxes for Bianchi and Korshunov," the Justice Department said.�
The department alleged that the employees "used trade secrets owned by GE Aviation to create the technical report."
The charges carry a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison, the Justice Department said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized the arrest of Korshunov, saying the charges represent an attempt at "dishonest competition." He said UEC was doing open, normal work with European partners by concluding a contract with the Italian consulting firm.
Putin also warned that the US move would further damage Russia's ties with the United States.
Russia's Rostec has also said Korshunov is innocent of any wrongdoing, adding that the company will take all possible measures to return him to Russia.
