BOSTON (AP) — Two men have been charged with illegal smuggling and conspiring to violate export controls by selling equipment to Russia’s nuclear energy industry, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston said Monday.
Sam Bhambhani, 55, of North Attleboro, Mass., and Maxim Teslenko, 35, of Moscow, were each indicted on one count of smuggling and one count of conspiracy to violate and evade export controls, commit smuggling, and defraud the United States.
“This case underscores our unwavering commitment to enforcing U.S. export laws and safeguarding national security,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy said in a statement. “The defendants are alleged to have engaged in a sophisticated scheme to evade export controls, deceiving the government about the true destination of sensitive technology and putting critical national interests at risk.”
Cases like the one involving Bhambhani and Teslenko are relatively common. In January, a Kansas businessman pleaded guilty to illegally exporting sensitive aviation technology to Russian companies in violation of U.S. sanctions. Two years ago, the Biden administration announced a series of criminal charges and sanctions related to a complicated scheme to procure military technologies from U.S. manufacturers and illegally supply them to Russia for its war in Ukraine.