The 53-year-old Tajik-American businessman Salimdzon Nasriddinov, a Tajik citizen holding a dual citizenship with Russia, who has lived in the United States for many years, and the 38-year-old Nikolay Goltsev of Montreal, who holds citizenship of Russia and Canada, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit export control violations for their roles in a global procurement scheme on behalf of sanctioned Russian companies, including Russian military companies, the U.S. Department of Justice reported on July 9.
“The defendants shipped millions of dollars of U.S. electronics critical to the missiles and drones Russia uses to attack Ukraine, and they now face U.S. prison time for their scheme,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said.
Nikolay Goltsev, Salimdzhon Nasriddinov, and their co-conspirator reportedly coordinated the deployment of over 300 shipments of restricted electronics that were ultimately used on the Russian battlefield.
Goltsev and Nasriddinov reportedly used two companies, SH Brothers Inc. and SN Electronics Inc., to unlawfully source and purchase dual-use electronics from U.S. manufacturers.
They then unlawfully shipped then unlawfully shipped millions of dollars’ worth of electronic components to a variety of intermediary front companies located in other countries, including Turkey, Hong Kong, India, China, and the United Arab Emirates, where they were rerouted to Russia.
Some of the electronic components and integrated circuits shipped by the defendants through SH Brothers have reportedly been found in seized Russian weapons platforms and signals intelligence equipment in Ukraine.
The defendants were reportedly aware of the potential military applications of the electronics that they exported to Russia.
The U.S. Department of Justice notes that a in a February 23, 2023, message, Nasriddinov wrote to Goltsev, “Happy Defender of the Fatherland,” referring the holiday in Russia and parts of the former Soviet Union celebrating those who served in the armed forces. Goltsev responded, “happy holiday to you too my friend, we are defending it in the way that we can [smile emoji].”
Salimdzon Nasriddinov and two Russian-Canadians — married couple Nikolay Goltsev and Kristina Puzyreva of Montreal – are sitting in detention in New York on charges of smuggling, conspiracy to violate sanctions, and wire-fraud conspiracy.
Goltsev and Puzyreva were arrested at a Manhattan hotel during a trip to New York to visit Nasriddinov. About US$20,000 was recovered from the couple, prosecutors said.
Radio Liberty reported on November 7 last year that the U.S. authorities have also seized more than US$1.1 million from U.S. bank accounts associated with the alleged scheme.
Both companies used to purchase dual-use electronics from U.S. manufacturers and ship them abroad were registered in Brooklyn. SH Brothers was reportedly set up by Nasriddinov in June 2021 and he established SN Electronics in January 2023, registering it under his wife's name, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported.
Nasriddinov, a native of the northwestern Tajik town of Panjakent, was reportedly well-known as a successful entrepreneur among the Tajik diaspora in New York.
