US businessman gets 10 years in prison for selling military technology to Russia
A businessman convicted of illegally exporting high-tech microelectronics to Russia was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a federal judge in New York, Golos Ameriki reported.
Alexander Fishenko, a dual citizen of the US and Russia, pleaded guilty to all 19 counts brought against him. Fishenko, who owned and operated a company called ARC Electronic based in Houston, Texas, shipped high-tech components frequently used in military systems to Russia. From 2002 to 2012, the businessman sent $50 million in microelectronics to Russia, bypassing the state licensing system designed to control the export of such products.
Authorities say that the components ended up in the hands of the FSB, as well as a Russian entity that builds air and missile defense systems.
"These commodities have applications and are frequently used in a wide range of military systems, including radar and surveillance systems, missile guidance systems and detonation triggers,” US authorities stated.
Fishenko’s attorneys asked that he be sentenced to a prison term of no longer than 4 years, and the prosecution requested 10 years. The defendant was sentenced to 10 years in prison and will have to forfeit $500,000 in criminal proceeds.
“US export laws exist to check the proliferation overseas of dangerous military technologies, but Fishenko, while working illegally as an agent of the Russian government, flouted these laws in order to line his pockets,” said Brooklyn US Attorney Robert Capers.