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The Biden administration announced the arrests and criminal charges on Tuesday in five cases involving sanctions evasion and technological espionage efforts linked to Russia, China and Iran.
Two Russian nationals were arrested last week on charges of sending aircraft parts to Russia in violation of sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. In another case, a former Apple engineer was accused of stealing the company’s autonomous vehicle technology to supply a Chinese competitor.
The announcement is the work of a newly established “technology strike force,” whose purpose is to protect critical American technology or data from theft by hostile nations. The strike force was created in February and combines agents with the Commerce and Justice Departments, as well as the FBI and local attorneys’ offices.
Federal agents are working to track the global movement of US goods and data, as well as the funds used to pay for them. The effort seeks to destroy global networks that channel goods and technology through obscure jurisdictions and intermediaries in an attempt to evade sanctions and technology restrictions imposed by the United States.
In another case announced Tuesday, a California-based engineer is accused of trying to steal the source code for a sophisticated machine that could be used to make parts for military submarines and airplanes to sell to several Chinese companies.
Two other cases were announced, including charges against a China-based agent accused of trying to send materials used for weapons of mass destruction to Iran, according to US officials, and charges involving the supply of advanced technology to Russia that could be reused. by the Russian military.
Matthew G. Olsen, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s national security division, told reporters that the case demonstrates the US government’s ability “to speed up investigations and increase our collective resources to defend against these threats.”
“Foreign countries are working hard to get the most sensitive technology,” said Matthew Axelrod, assistant secretary for export enforcement in the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security. “We are working hard to stop them.”
Oleg Patsulya and Vasilii Besedin, two Russian nationals who were arrested last week on suspicion of trying to procure millions of dollars worth of prohibited parts for a Russian airline, were charged with conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act and conspiracy to commit international money laundering. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison on each charge.
The Commerce Department issued a temporary denial order Tuesday against them, which prohibits transactions involving U.S. products for 180 days.
The order also applies to shipments in the Maldives that the men used to direct shipments of banned products to Russia, as well as the Russian airline, Smartavia, which sought to buy the products.
On Thursday, federal officials seized luxury goods bought with the proceeds of the scheme, US officials said.
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