Indian man gets 30-month jail in US for illegal export of aviation parts to Russia

New York: A 58-year-old Indian national was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in the US for conspiring to illegally export controlled aviation components from Oregon to Russia.

In the judgement pronounced earlier this week, US Attorney for the District of Oregon Scott Bradford said Sanjay Kaushik's actions were deliberate and profit-driven.

"It was a calculated, profit-driven scheme involving repeated transactions, substantial gains, and coordination with foreign co-conspirators, including sanctioned Russian entities. This defendant sought, on multiple occasions, to undermine safeguards critical to US national security and foreign policy for his own personal gain,” he said.

The court sentenced Kaushik from Delhi to 30 months in federal prison and 36 months of supervised release for conspiring with others to export controlled aviation components and a navigation and flight control system to end users in Russia, in violation of the Export Control Reform Act.

"Those who scheme to circumvent US export control laws - especially when it involves technologies with military applications - will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said.

“The security of the United States demands that perpetrators of deceitful schemes like this one are held accountable for their actions,” he said.

According to court documents, beginning in early September 2023, Kaushik conspired with others to unlawfully obtain aerospace goods and technology from the US for entities in Russia.

The goods were purchased under the pretext that they were meant for Kaushik and his Indian company, when in fact they were destined for Russian end users, the Justice Department said in a statement on Friday.

Kaushik and his co-conspirators purchased an Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS), a device that provides navigation and flight control data for aircraft, from an Oregon-based supplier.

Components such as the AHRS require a licence from the Department of Commerce to be exported to certain countries, including Russia.

To obtain the licence, Kaushik and his co-conspirators falsely claimed that Kaushik’s Indian company was the end purchaser and that the component would be used in a civilian helicopter.

Kaushik and his co-conspirators obtained the AHRS, which was ultimately detained before it could be exported.

Kaushik was arrested in Miami in October 2024, pursuant to a criminal complaint and arrest warrant and has remained in custody since then.

A month later, a federal grand jury in Portland indicted him on charges of conspiracy, attempted illegal export, and making false statements.

In October last year, Kaushik pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to sell export-controlled aviation components with dual civilian and military applications to end users in Russia.