THAT WON’T FLY

2 Kansas Men Illegally Exported Aviation Tech to Russia, Feds Say

One of the men told a Russia-based customer in April 2022 that it was “NOT the right time” in the U.S. to go through the rigamarole of obtaining the right licenses.

Two men were arrested in Kansas City on Thursday over their alleged roles in a plot to illegally send electronics to Russia, according to a Justice Department indictment. Cyril Buyanovsky, 59, and Douglas Robertson, 55, allegedly sidestepped U.S. export laws to supply “Western avionics equipment” to Russian companies for their aircraft. They repaired and shipped the technology covertly, in one case using a fraudulent invoice falsely identifying Germany as the end destination of equipment bearing an FSB sticker, or Russia’s Federal Security Service. After American authorities detained a shipment in Feb. 2022, they warned the pair they needed a license to export the goods. But two months later, Robertson told a customer in Russia that “things are complicated in the USA” and that it was “NOT the right time for [more paperwork and visibility],” the department said. After that, they allegedly began shipping the equipment through Armenia and Cyprus to get it to Russia. If convicted, the pair face a maximum sentence of up to 20 years for each count of exporting controlled good without a license.