2 March 2023
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Two Kansas men are accused of illegally exporting aviation-related technology to Russia after the country invaded Ukraine.
Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, 59, of Lawrence, and Douglas Robertson, 55, of Olathe, are charged with conspiracy, exporting controlled goods without a license, falsifying and failing to file electronic export information, and smuggling goods contrary to U.S. law.
According to a federal indictment, the two owned KanRus Trading Company located at New Century in Johnson County.
The two are accused of supplying electronics normally installed in aircraft to Russian companies. They are also accused of repairing equipment used in Russian made aircraft.
The indictment claims the business partners concealed shipments and used fake shipping labels to send shipments through a third country to make it more difficult to track.
For example, court documents show the defendants allegedly received a damaged computer processer from Russia’s Federal Security Services. Then they created a fake invoice to ship back, but instead of shipping it to Russia, they claimed the part was being shipped to Germany.
The indictment also accuses the two of illegally shipping parts through Armenia and Cyprus to Russia without obtaining the required licenses in May, June, and July 2022.
A Justice Department Task Force known as “KleptoCapture” was involved in the investigation into Buyanovsky’s and Robertson’s involvement in the alleged crimes.