He is expected to be brought before a judge today.
Federal Court/AP
An Israeli-American businessman was arrested last night (Wednesday) in Los Angeles, on suspicion of illegal export of electronic components to Russia.
According to the suspicion, through a network of businesses in China and other countries, he thus transferred over a quarter of a million semiconductor chips from the United States to businesses related to the Russian intelligence services and the military, including the FSB (ФСБ), the main successor of the KGB.
After the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Among the shipments in question are also chips branded FA-SBA.
The man, 66-year-old Ilya Kahn, who, according to the letter of suspicion against him, lives in Israel and sometimes comes to the United States, is the owner of two American companies, in Los Angeles and in Brooklyn, which according to the American Department of Justice raked in about 50 million dollars between 2012 and 2022.
Kahn also holds a Russian passport.
Delivered over a quarter of a million semiconductor chips to Russia.
Chip/ShutterStock
According to US authorities, Kahn also ensured that the Russian intelligence service provider continued to receive semiconductors after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when the United States increased the difficulty of sending semiconductors to Russia.
The US Department of Justice said that these semiconductors can be used, among other things, for communication systems, GPS receivers and equipment for unmanned aerial vehicles - UAVs.
It is suspected that after a company in Taiwan that produced such branded semiconductors refused to send them to Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, Kahn made sure to send the the semiconductors to the United States and then often re-exported them to Russia through a shipping company based at Kennedy International Airport in New York. Kahn also allegedly used Hong Kong and other locations around the world as transshipment points to evade United States export laws and regulations and hide end users the russians
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"The illegal export of semiconductors and other sensitive technology to a foreign adversary is not a trivial offense but a serious violation of American national security," said James Smith, a senior FBI official, "Ilya Kahn's alleged actions - exploiting a malicious network of companies Exporting prohibited sensitive technology to the Russian military and intelligence services directly harmed the interests and security of the United States and our allies. As we work to protect the United States, the FBI will continue to ensure that anyone willing to evade sanctions for aiding hostile nations will face the consequences in the criminal justice system."
Kahn is expected to be brought before a judge in federal court in California today.
The American Ministry of Justice emphasizes that these are only suspicions and that every person has the right to be innocent until proven otherwise, and at the same time, they point out that if he is accused and convicted he faces up to 20 years in prison.
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