OREANDA-NEWS On May 11, the US authorities arrested two Russian citizens, Oleg Patsula and Vasily Besedin, who are accused of trying to violate the sanctions against Russia, according to a press release released on Tuesday by the US Department of Justice.

They are accused of violating the export control regime against the Russian Federation and plans to launder money on an international scale.

"According to the indictment, Patsula and Besedin, who live in Miami-Dade County, Florida, used their Florida-based company MIC P&I, LLC and other structures to circumvent U.S. export controls and restrictions and send aircraft parts to Russian airlines," the ministry said in a press release.

The investigation claims that the Russians received orders for aircraft parts directly from Russian companies, and many of these customers were already subject to export control. Patsula and Besedin, according to the US Department of Justice, used intermediary companies and bank accounts in third countries to hide real data about buyers and sources of payments. Patsula and Besedin then contacted spare parts suppliers in the United States and gave out false information to receive the goods, according to the Ministry of Justice.

The ministry clarified that if found guilty of violating the export control regime, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison; admission of guilt in money laundering on an international scale can also be punishable by 20 years in prison.