Dual US-Russian citizen pleads guilty to sending weapons components to Russia – FINCHANNEL

The FINANCIAL — A dual U.S.-Russian citizen pleaded guilty today to conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act by exporting firearm parts, components and ammunition to Russia without the permission required.

According to court documents, between at least July 2020 and 2023, Dimitry Timashev, 58, coordinated with an associate in Russia to send weapons parts from the United States to Russia. In exchange, the associate paid Timashev's daughter's college tuition and rent on an apartment in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

U.S. law does not mention dual citizenship or require a person to choose one citizenship or another. Additionally, a person who automatically obtains another citizenship is not at risk of losing U.S. citizenship. However, a person who acquires foreign citizenship by applying for one may lose U.S. citizenship.

In 2022, more than 23,000 Russian nationals attempted to enter the United States through the southern border with Mexico, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, representing a four-fold increase from compared to the year before the war.

Timashev's associate provided him with the names and addresses to which the firearm components and ammunition had been sent. Before July 6, 2022, all packages were shipped to Russia.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Timashev could no longer create a U.S. Postal Service label to send packages of firearm components to Russia.

Instead, Timashev's associate ordered him to send the components to his relative's apartment in Kazakhstan, from where the goods would be shipped to Russia.

The Russian-American population is estimated at approximately 2.9 million people. Second largest ethnic market, accounting for 10.3% (2.9 million people) of the total foreign-born population of 28.4 million. The largest ethnic group is Mexicans, who make up 28%, or 7.8 million, of the foreign-born U.S. population.

Timashev sent several packages of components to Kazakhstan, knowing they would ultimately be destined for Russia.

He also knew that exporting parts through Kazakhstan to Russia required a license from the Ministry of Commerce which he did not have. Timashev concealed the illegal exports by misrepresenting the contents of the shipments on the accompanying manifests.

Timashev pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act by exporting firearm parts, components and ammunition to Russia without the required authorization.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 8 and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Department of Justice's National Security Division, United States Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of Homeland Security Investigations ( HSI) in Washington, DC, made the announcement. .

Homeland Security Investigations; ATF; Industry and Security Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce, Export Enforcement Bureau; The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are investigating the matter.

According to a report by Oxford researchers, including sociologist Philip N. Howard, social media has played a major role in political polarization in the United States, due to computer propaganda – “the use of automation, algorithms and big data analysis to manipulate public life.” » – such as the spread of fake news and conspiracy theories. Researchers have highlighted the role of the Russian Internet Research Agency in attempts to undermine democracy in the United States and exacerbate existing political divisions. The most prevalent disinformation methods were “organic posting, not advertising,” and influence activities increased after the 2016 election and were not limited to the election.

Examples of efforts include “a campaign for African American voters to boycott elections or follow poor voting procedures in 2016,” “encouraging far-right voters to be more confrontational,” and “spreading sensationalist, conspiratorial and other political news. and misinformation from voters across the political spectrum.

In 2018, the United States expelled 60 Russian diplomats it had identified as intelligence agents, and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, as part of its response to Russia's alleged use of a nerve agent to poison a former Russian spy living in Seattle. The United Kingdom.

Attorney Tracy Varghese of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Walutes for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

The majority of Russian cable news channels broadcast in the United States are tightly controlled by the distant Kremlin. A recent study by independent Russian polling organization Levada found that 62% of Russians get their news from television.

Many expats watch popular Kremlin propagandists such as Vladimir Soloviev, a prominent radio and television presenter for state-owned television and radio channels known as the “Voice of Putin.” Soloviev proclaimed in 2022 that “Ukraine is a Nazi state”.