Group charged with stealing U.S. military technology, providing it to Russia
Authorities file charges against network of secret agents
It’s a story that has a little too much of a Cold War era feel to it: a Kazakhstan immigrant who made millions of dollars off his Texas export firm, Arc Electronics Inc., has been accused of being a secret agent who’s been stealing U.S. military technology and providing it to Russian forces.
The FBI has uncovered a massive technology-smuggling scheme run by Alexander Fishenko (Via: theprovince.com)
Alexander Fishenko is among 11 defendants to be named in a federal indictment that charges the group with allegedly creating a scheme to evade export controls for microelectronics.
Fishenko, specifically, was also charged with money laundering and operating inside the U.S. as an unregistered agent of the Russian government.
Details behind the charges
In the indictment, the group is alleged to have “engaged in a surreptitious and systematic conspiracy” to obtain highly regulated technology from U.S. makers for the sole purpose of exporting them to Russia.
Specifically, the technology smuggled out was microelectronics used in several different military technologies, including detonation systems, weapons guidance systems, and radar and surveillance systems.
Trail of evidence
The charges coincide with a recent push by the Russian military to modernize their current technology platform, and their eagerness to get their hands on the heavily restricted American-made components.
When the FBI reviewed Arc’s account records, they noticed a “striking similarity between fluctuations in Arc’s gross revenues and the Russian Federation’s defense spending over the last several years.”
Among the key pieces of evidence is a letter addressed to Arc that came from a Russian domestic intelligence agency lab. In it, the lab complained to Arc that microchips supplied by the company were defective.
Intercepted e-mails and phone calls also “constitute devastating evidence of Fishenko’s illegal procurement for the Russian government,” according to court papers.
Stephen, L. Morris, head of the FBI office in Houston, pointed to the charges as a prime example of how some countries seek to bypass export safeguards “to improve their defense capabilities and to modernize weapons systems at the expense of U.S. taxpayers.”
Who is Alexander Fishenko?
Fishenko is a naturalized U.S. citizen and owner of Houston-based Arc Electronics, Inc. He was born in the former Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan and graduated from a technical institute in St. Petersburg.
Fishenko came to America in 1994 and holds both U.S. and Russian passports. His travel records show that he has frequently traveled overseas to conduct business, and in doing so, has earned tens of millions of dollars on exports.
Throughout all of the evidence gathered, investigators noticed numerous attempts by Fishenko to cover his tracks when it came to his illegal exports. One instance, in particular, took place in March: Fishenko “directed an employee of a Russian procurement firm to ‘make sure that our guys don’t discuss extra information, such as this is for our military client,’” according to court papers.
Also, in an earlier conversation, Fishenko referred to a business associate using “a Russian colloquialism for ‘spy’ or ‘secret agent,’” the papers add.
Outlook
A dozen or so FBI agents executed a search warrant this week at Fishenko’s firm, which, it just so happens, was an unmarked business located in an industrial area. 18 cardboard boxes of materials were taken during the raid.
If convicted of all charges, Fishenko could face more than 12 years in prison. ■
Story via: fbi.gov
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