A Russian was arrested in the United States for smuggling microelectronics to Russia

A 51-year-old citizen of the aggressor country, Russia, Maxim Marchenko, has been arrested in the United States of America. He was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud in the United States, as well as crimes related to smuggling, fraud and money laundering.

This was reported on Monday, September 18, on the official website of the US Department of Justice. The Russian is also suspected of participating in a smuggling scheme for dual-use microelectronics.

According to the report, Marchenko, using a network of front companies, delivered American dual-use technologies that could be used for military purposes to Russia.

As US Attorney Demian Williams noted, we are talking about American-made OLED chips used in sights, night vision devices, thermal imagers and weapons systems for use by Russians.

According to court documents, Maxim Marchenko is a Russian citizen, resides in Hong Kong and runs several Hong Kong shell companies, notably Alice Components Co. Ltd. (Alice Components), Neway Technologies Limited (Neway) and RG Solutions Limited (RG).

“Together with two accomplices, who are also citizens of the Russian Federation, he led a network of illegal purchases in Russia, Hong Kong and other countries abroad. This procurement network fraudulently obtained large quantities of dual-use microelectronics, including OLED microdisplays, from US distributors on behalf of end users in Russia. To carry out this scheme, they used Hong Kong-based shell companies and other means of deception to conceal from US government agencies and US distributors that the OLED microdisplays were destined for Russia,” the report said.