CHANDIGARH: A 58-year-old Indian national Sanjay Kaushik was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in the United States for illegally exporting controlled aviation components from Oregon in the US to Russia via India thus, violating US security.
A statement issued by the US Justice Department stated, "Yesterday, in Portland, Oregon, a man from Delhi, India was sentenced to federal prison for conspiring with others to export controlled aviation components and a navigation and flight control system to end users in Russia, in violation of the Export Control Reform Act. Sanjay Kaushik, 58, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and 36 months of supervised release.’’
It further stated it was not a mistake but a well-calculated business deal for which Kaushik put his personal gain above US national security and foreign policy.
According to court documents and following yesterday's sentencing, beginning in early September 2023, Kaushik conspired with others to unlawfully obtain aerospace goods and technology from the United States for entities in Russia. The goods were purchased under the false pretense that they would be supplied to Kaushik and his Indian company, when in fact they were bought for Russian end users.
In one such instance, Kaushik and his co-conspirators purchased an Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS), which is a device that provides navigation and flight control data for aircraft, from an Oregon-based supplier.
Components such as the AHRS require a license from the Department of Commerce to be exported to certain countries, including Russia. To obtain an export license for the AHRS, Kaushik and his co-conspirators falsely claimed that Kaushik’s Indian company was the end purchaser and that the component would be used in a civilian helicopter.
They obtained the AHRS, which was ultimately detained before it was exported from the United States, on behalf of and with the intention of shipping it, through India, to a customer in Russia.
US Attorney for the District of Oregon Scott Bradford said Sanjay Kaushik’s actions were deliberate and profit-driven.
"This was no lapse in judgment. It was a calculated, profit-driven scheme involving repeated transactions, substantial gains, and coordination with foreign co-conspirators, including sanctioned Russian entities. This defendant sought, on multiple occasions, to undermine safeguards critical to US national security and foreign policy for his own personal gain,” he said.
"Those who scheme to circumvent US export control laws, especially when it involves technologies with military applications, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The security of the United States demands that perpetrators of deceitful schemes like this one are held accountable for their actions,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg.
Kaushik was arrested in Miami in October last year in connection with a criminal complaint and arrest warrant and has remained in custody since.
On November 20, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a three-count indictment charging Kaushik with conspiring and attempting to export products in violation of the Export Control Reform Act and the Export Administration Regulations, specifically attempting to illegally export a navigation and flight control system from Oregon to Russia through India, and false statements in connection with an export.
The statement by the justice department said, "The sentencing was announced by Scott E Bradford, United States Attorney for the District of Oregon, Assistant Attorney General John A Eisenberg of the National Security Division of the US Department of Justice, and Special Agent in Charge Brent Burmester of the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), San Jose Field Office. BIS Portland investigated the case, with valuable assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and US Customs and Border Protection. Gregory R Nyhus, Assistant US Attorney for the District of Oregon, and Trial Attorney Emma Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.’’