(Reuters) – A Russian man pleaded guilty on Thursday to American charges that he smuggled large quantities of American-made military-grade microelectronics into Russia, senior U.S. justice officials said in a statement.
Maxim Marchenko, 51, a resident of Hong Kong, was taken into US custody in September. He and two unnamed Russian conspirators were accused of using shell companies to hide the fraudulent acquisition of so-called OLED micro-displays.
Marchenko pleaded guilty in a New York court to one charge of money laundering, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, and one charge of smuggling goods from the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. His sentencing is scheduled for June 6.
“The Department of Justice holds accountable those who allegedly enabled the Kremlin to continue its unjust war of aggression against Ukraine,” said Deputy Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the department’s National Security Division.
Federal prosecutors said OLED microdisplays could be used in rifle scopes, night vision goggles, thermal optics and other weapons systems.
Marchenko and his co-conspirators falsely represented that dual-use technology – meaning it had civilian and military applications – was being sent to China, Hong Kong and elsewhere for use in electron microscopes for medical research.