Washington, August 29, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A Russian national living in Florida has been convicted by a US federal jury of illegally exporting more than $900,000 worth of American aircraft components to Russia, including to state-owned airline Aeroflot, the US Justice Department said.
Alexander Mamonov, 62, was found guilty on all 12 counts following a trial in the Southern District of Florida. The charges included conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act, illegal export of controlled goods, conspiracy to commit smuggling, smuggling, filing false export information and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
US District Judge Kathleen Williams has scheduled Mamonov’s sentencing for November 20. The Justice Department did not specify the maximum penalties he faces.
Prosecutors said Mamonov, a former Aeroflot employee who later moved to South Florida, worked with Russian national Ignat Vakorin, who remains a fugitive, to procure aircraft components from US suppliers and send them to Russia. The two were charged together in April 2025.
According to prosecutors, the scheme began after Washington tightened export controls on Russia following Moscow’s expanded invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The US Commerce Department had also issued a temporary denial order preventing Aeroflot from receiving US-origin goods.
Mamonov and Vakorin allegedly concealed the actual destination of the aircraft parts by telling US suppliers they would be shipped to countries including China and the United Arab Emirates. The components were instead sent to Russia and Aeroflot, prosecutors said.
“Mamonov illegally exported nearly one million dollars of aviation parts to Russia by lying to US suppliers about their destination, and this conviction on all counts holds him accountable,” said Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division.
Rozhavsky said the FBI would continue to prioritise enforcement of sanctions and export-control laws, warning those seeking to smuggle US technology to adversaries.
US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones said the case demonstrated that third-country routes could not be used to circumvent American export restrictions.
Washington imposed extensive export controls on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, covering aircraft, aviation components and other products that US authorities say could support Russian military capabilities or strategically important industries.
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