Latvian Broker Admits Role in Smuggling US Aircraft Technology to Russia in Breach of Sanctions

A Latvian national has pleaded guilty in a United States federal court to conspiring with American partners to illegally export sensitive aircraft technology to Russia, including avionics equipment destined for Russian intelligence services.

Oleg Chistyakov, also known as Olegs Čitsjakovs, 56, admitted his role in a years-long conspiracy to circumvent US export control laws. According to court documents, Chistyakov worked with US citizens Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, 62, and Douglas Edward Robertson, 58, of Kansas, through their company KanRus Trading Company Inc., to procure, repair, and ship avionics systems to customers in Russia and other operators of Russian-built aircraft. Both Buyanovsky and Robertson pleaded guilty following their arrest in March 2023.

Chistyakov acknowledged that the network continued its illicit activity even after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, despite the imposition of stringent economic sanctions. He admitted to filing false export declarations and using complex smuggling tactics to disguise the true end users. These methods included falsified invoices, transshipping goods through countries such as Laos and the United Arab Emirates, and moving funds through bank accounts in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the UAE. His Emirati-based company, RosAero FZC, played a key role in the scheme.

Among the end users was the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB), highlighting the national security risks posed by the illegal exports. The US Department of Commerce requires licences for the transfer of such sensitive aviation technology, which Chistyakov and his conspirators deliberately bypassed.

As part of his guilty plea, Chistyakov has agreed to the forfeiture of assets linked to the conspiracy. He now faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for 10 March 2026 in the District of Kansas, where a federal judge will consider the US Sentencing Guidelines and statutory factors.

The case is being led by the FBI and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement, with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, US Customs and Border Protection, and prosecutors from the District of Kansas and the National Security Division.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg emphasised that the plea underlines the United States’ determination to hold accountable those who seek to undermine export controls and supply Russia’s war machine in violation of sanctions.

Read the press release here.