Tried To Smuggle Two Cessnas To Russia Via Armenia

Sergey Nechaev is a dual U.S.-Russian citizen arrested in the Southern District of Georgia on charges of unlawfully attempting to export two small aircraft to Russia without the required license from the U.S Department of Commerce.

The aircraft involved were seized by the U.S. government.

The indictment alleges that Nechaev engaged in a scheme to smuggle two Cessna aircraft from the U.S to Russia. Specifically, he was attempting to export a 1968 Cessna 172K and a 1973 Cessna, together valued at about $170,000, to a purported Russian flight school by falsely representing that the destination and end user of the aircraft were in Armenia.

Such misrepresentation is in violation of U.S. export control laws and regulations after the U.S. imposed stricter controls on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

If Nechaev is convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for unlawful export of controlled goods, up to 10 years for smuggling, and up to 5 years for falsifying export information. Additionally, the aircraft would be subject to forfeiture.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Darron Hubbard and L. Alexander Hamner for the Southern District of Georgia and Trial Attorneys Leslie Esbrook and Fatema Merchant of the Counterintelligence and Export Control section are prosecuting the case.

FMI:  www.justice.gov/