Unless you’ve remained completely oblivious to the world around you, then you’re well aware of the rising tensions between Russia and the Western world. This tension has continued to grow for decades, and it’s only gotten more culpable as the situation in Ukraine continues to degrade quickly.

In Mid-October, a federal court in Brooklyn further degraded Russia-US relations when they unsealed a 12-count indictment against five Russian nationals who are being accused of evading global sanctions. These five suspects (Artem Uss, Svetlana Kuzurgasheva, Yury Orekhov, Timofey Telegin, and Sergey Tulyakov) are facing multiple charges ranging from money laundering to global procurement.

That’s not all, though. Multiple other individuals who were working with a Venezuelan state-owned oil company were also implicated in the scheme (Juan Carlos Soto and Juan Fernando Serrano Ponce).

Prosecutors allege that all the defendants conspired together to orchestrate a scheme to gain access to U.S. military technology and Venezuelan oil. The group decided to get access by using semi-private methods like shell companies and cryptocurrency. The goal, according to the US Attorney Peace and the FBI’s Assistant Director, was to “enable” oligarchs by stealing US technology and profit off of black-market oil. The profits were all allegedly meant to be used to support the Russian Federation military industrial complex.

Per the FBI’s Assistant Director, this entire criminal scheme was crafted intentionally to undermine the US.

International Money Laundering and Violating Global Sanctions

According to the US Justice Department, the maximum sentence that could be given to the defendants if they’re convicted is 30 years. While not all of the formal charges have been listed out yet, it’s easy to see how multiple charges could result in a 30-year sentence. International money laundering is illegal under the Money Laundering Control Act. If convicted under this act, then defendants can serve a maximum of 20 years in prison. Similarly, if someone is convicted of violating OFAC or similar global sanctions, then they could face prison time of up to 30 years.

Using cryptocurrency and shell companies isn’t illegal in itself, so it remains unclear what other formal charges the defendants will get charged with.

Are You Looking for an International Attorney?

No one wants to be the victim of a global political campaign, but if you get accused of breaking global sanctions or violating some international political standard, then you could be in some deep hot water. Not only will you get arrested and charged, but there’s also a great chance that the law will punish you harshly so as to set an example for the global community.

The best way to avoid becoming an international scapegoat is to hire the very best possible legal representation that you can.Here at Bukh Law Firm, our highly skilled legal experts have extensive experience representing Americans and other foreign nationals in international legal battles.

We invite you to leave your contact information on our online form now to get in touch with our office about the charges you’re facing. We look forward to hearing from you.