In the United States, two Russians face jail for violations of the sanctions regime

A court in the US state of Georgia accused five people of conspiracy to commit money laundering, financial fraud and trying to circumvent existing trade restrictions. The charges were brought against two citizens of Russia, two Italians and an American, the press service of the US Department of Justice said.

Фото: Depositphotos

We are talking about the head of the Russian company KS Engineering (KSE) Oleg Nikitin, an employee of the company Anton Cheremukhin, the head of the Italian-registered company GVA International Oil and Gas Services (GVA) Gabriele Villone, an employee of the organization Bruno Kaparini and the head of the American company World Mining and Oil Supply ( WMO) Dali Bagru writes RBC.

“Nikitin, Villone and Bagru were arrested in Savannah, Georgia, while trying to make an illegal transaction and are awaiting trial,” the report said.

As noted in the department, citizens of Russia and Italy were suspected of conspiring to circumvent the International Law on Extraordinary Economic Powers (IEEPA) and the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA). In addition, all five are accused of conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering.

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According to the indictment, an unnamed company “controlled by the Russian government” entered into a contract with Nikitin and KSE for the purchase of a Vectra 40G power turbine from an American manufacturer for approximately $ 17,3 million. For reasons of national security, the US Department of Commerce banned any unlicensed delivery or transfer of Vectra to a Russian company noted in Department of Justice.

The 40G power turbine, as indicated in the message, was designed and manufactured for integration with gas generators for direct drive of powerful gas compressors.

“The evidence in this case established the intention of the Russian company to use Vectra on the Russian Arctic deepwater (more than 500 feet [150 meters]) drilling platform,” the Department of Justice said.

In an attempt to avoid US sanctions, KSE, represented by Nikitin and Cheremukhin, turned to Villone and Kaparini to get a turbine from GVA. The Italians, in turn, resorted to the services of Bagru and his company. WMO was supposed to buy a turbine from an American manufacturer and send it abroad.

"The parties agreed to hide the true end-user of Vectra from both the American manufacturer and the US government by submitting fake documentation stating that Vectra would be used by the American company in Atlanta and its environs," the report said.

“This prosecution demonstrates the high priority the Department of Justice places on enforcing U.S. export restrictions to the Russian oil and gas industry,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in a statement. — The US government introduced these restrictions after the annexation of Crimea by Russia and its military actions in Ukraine. "Russia continues to undermine democratic processes and institutions in the region and negatively impact our national security."

“The defendants attempted to defraud the United States by evading sanctions imposed to keep U.S. goods out of the hands of some of the most dangerous actors in the world,” said prosecutor Bobby Christine. “We will continue to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law those who threaten our national security.”

“This brazen scheme to undermine United States sanctions was a direct threat to national security,” said Chris Hacker, FBI Special Agent in Charge in Atlanta. “But thanks to the tireless efforts of federal law enforcement partners, the deception is ending and the first steps to bringing these defendants to justice begin.”

Nikitin and Cheremukhini can be sentenced to imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of 1 million dollars, as well as additional 5 years of imprisonment and a fine of 250 000 dollars.

The only production platform in the Arctic is Prirazlomnaya (which conducts production at sea at a depth of about 20 meters), which is owned by Gazprom Neft Shelf (a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft) and conducts production at the Prirazlomnoye field, recalls the head of the Gekon consulting center »Mikhail Grigoriev.

The last three years, in the summer, the platform stops production and shipping of oil for some time, obviously, in connection with ongoing repairs, the expert says. At the same time, the oil production schedule looks like a “sawtooth curve”, but in general, the approved design level of production is not achieved, he points out. For the project, this, apparently, is not fatal: after repairs, the company starts up stopped wells again, Grigoryev concludes.

Gazprom Neft intends to re-equip the platform, as it was built “some time ago, and now there are new technologies, new equipment”, the head of the company, Alexander Dyukov, told 2016 in December.

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Vectra 40G power turbines are manufactured by the Texas company Dresser-Rand (it is not named in the press release of the US Department of Justice). Since 2014, the company is part of the German Siemens group. In 2008, Dresser-Rand already supplied Vectra 40G equipment for the then Prirazlomnaya platform. On the Internet you can find a declaration of compliance with the EAEU regulations for gas turbine generators at Prirazlomnaya, including the Vectra 40G power turbine.

In 2017, the St. Petersburg LLC KS-Engineering, whose general director was Oleg Nikitin, according to public procurement portal, wanted to supply JSC PO Sevmash (which built the Prirazlomnaya platform) a complex for direct oil shipment. The tender was not played then. This is the only case when a St. Petersburg company participated in government tenders.

Oleg Nikitin is the owner and CEO of KS-Engineering LLC. The company was registered in St. Petersburg at the end of the 2013 year, the main activity is "wholesale trade in machinery and equipment for mining and construction." The annual revenue of the company is about 200 million rubles. (more than 3 million dollars), with the exception of 2016 year, when CS "Engineering" earned 1,4 billion rubles (21,8 million dollars).

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