The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York last week charged Russian oligarch Andrey Kostin, along with Russian national Vadim Wolfson of Austin, Texas, and U.S. citizen Gannon Bond of Edgewater, New Jersey, with conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions on Russia by providing "funds, goods, and services" to Kostin, a sanctioned party, it said in a news release. (U.S. v. Andrey Kostin, S.D.N.Y. # 24-00091).
Former commodities trader Javier Aguilar was convicted Feb. 23 of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing officials of Ecuadorian state-owned oil company Petroecuador. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York also said Aguilar was found guilty of laundering money used to bribe Ecuadorian officials of Petroecuador and of an affiliate of the Mexican state-owned oil company Pemex. He faces a maximum 30-year prison stint.
Marcus Nussbaum settled an attorney misconduct proceeding before the Federal Maritime Commission earlier this month, agreeing not to practice before the FMC for one year. If Nussbaum tries to practice before the commission before the one-year period or violates the settlement agreement, the FMC said it may "re-institute" the misconduct proceeding.
Mohamed Daoud Ghacham, executive at California-based clothing wholesale company Ghacham Inc., was sentenced to 48 months in prison for undervaluing garment imports to avoid paying customs duties, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced Feb. 23. In addition, the Bell, California, resident will pay close to $6.4 million in restitution after pleading guilty in December 2022 to conspiracy to "pass false and fraudulent papers through a customhouse."
DOJ last week announced a guilty plea and indictments as part of a scheme by Russians to illegally use U.S.-based companies to transfer and launder money.
DOJ last week announced a set of new charges, arrests and forfeiture proceedings to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The agency announced forfeiture actions involving $2.5 million in luxury properties, arrested two U.S. residents for helping a Russian violate sanctions, charged two sanctioned oligarchs with violating U.S. restrictions and more.
The U.S. transferred nearly $500,000 in "forfeited Russian funds" to Estonia in an attempt to provide aid to Ukraine, DOJ announced on Feb. 17. The move, announced at the Munich Security Conference by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Estonian Secretary General Tonis Saar, is "the first of its kind from the United States to a foreign ally for the express purpose of assisting Ukraine," DOJ said.
A Florida husband and wife were each sentenced to 57 months in prison on Feb. 14 for illegally avoiding customs duties and violating the Lacey Act on between $25 million and $65 million worth of plywood products, DOJ announced. Noel and Kelsy Hernandez Quintana also were ordered to pay, "jointly and severally, $42,417,318.50 in forfeitures, as well as $1,630,324.46 in storage costs incurred by the government" after the couple "declined to abandon" the plywood seized by the government, DOJ said.
DOJ this week completed the forfeiture of a U.S.-origin Boeing 747 after a monthslong effort to seize the plane from Mahan Air, a sanctioned Iranian airline.
Kristina Puzyreva, a Russian and Canadian national, pleaded guilty on Feb. 12 to conspiracy to commit money laundering for her role in a scheme to export unnamed aerial vehicle parts, guided missile system components and other weapons to sanctioned Russian entities, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced. She faces up to 20 years in prison.