The FINANCIAL — A dual U.S.-Russian citizen pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act by exporting firearm parts, components, and ammunition to Russia without the required authorization.
According to court documents, from at least July 2020 to 2023, Dimitry Timashev, 58, coordinated with an associate in Russia to send weapon parts from the United States to Russia. In exchange, the associate paid tuition for Timashev’s daughter and rent for an apartment in Ekaterinburg, Russia.
U.S. law does not mention dual nationality or require a person to choose one citizenship or another. Also, a person who is automatically granted another citizenship does not risk losing U.S. citizenship. However, a person who acquires a foreign citizenship by applying for it may lose U.S. citizenship.
In 2022, more than 23,000 Russian nationals attempted to enter the United States via the southern border with Mexico, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, representing a fourfold increase on the year preceding the war
Timashev’s associate provided him with the names and addresses to which the firearm components and ammunition were sent. Before July 6, 2022, all the packages were shipped to Russia.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022, Timashev could no longer create a U.S. Postal Service label to send packages of firearm components to Russia.
Instead, Timashev’s associate directed him to send the components to his relative’s apartment in Kazakhstan, from where the goods would be sent to Russia.
Russian American population is estimated at approximately 2.9 million people. Second largest ethnic market representing 10.3% (2.9 Million people) of the total foreign-born population of 28.4 million. The leading ethnic group is Mexicans that represent 28% or 7.8 million of all US foreign-born population.
Timashev sent multiple packages of components to Kazakhstan, knowing they were ultimately bound for Russia.
He also knew exporting the parts through Kazakhstan to Russia required a license from the Department of Commerce that he did not have. Timashev concealed the illegal exports by misrepresenting the contents of the shipments on the accompanying manifests.
Timashev pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act by exporting firearm parts, components, and ammunition to Russia without the required authorization.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 8 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement.
Homeland Security Investigations; ATF; Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement; U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are investigating the case.
According to a report by Oxford researchers including sociologist Philip N. Howard, social media played a major role in political polarization in the United States, due to computational propaganda — “the use of automation, algorithms, and big-data analytics to manipulate public life”—such as the spread of fake news and conspiracy theories. The researchers highlighted the role of the Russian Internet Research Agency in attempts to undermine democracy in the US and exacerbate existing political divisions. The most prominent methods of misinformation were “organic posting, not advertisements”, and influence operation activity increased after the 2016 election and was not limited to the election.
Examples of efforts included “campaigning for African American voters to boycott elections or follow the wrong voting procedures in 2016”, “encouraging extreme right-wing voters to be more confrontational”, and “spreading sensationalist, conspiratorial, and other forms of junk political news and misinformation to voters across the political spectrum.”
The US in 2018 expelled 60 Russian diplomats whom the US identified as intelligence agents, as well as ordering the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, as part of its response to Russia’s alleged use of a nerve agent to poison a former Russian spy living in the United Kingdom.
Trial Attorney Tracy Varghese of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Walutes for the Eastern District of Virgina are prosecuting the case.
The majority of Russian news TV cable channels seen in the U.S. are tightly controlled by the far-off Kremlin. Recent research by Russian independent polling organization Levada found that 62% of Russians get their news from TV.
Many expats watch popular Kremlin propagandists such as Vladimir Solovyov, a prominent radio and television anchor for the state-owned TV and radio stations known as “Putin’s voice.” Solovyov proclaimed in 2022 that “Ukraine is a Nazi state.”
Discussion about this post