A Hallandale Beach resident who is a citizen of Belarus and permanent U.S. resident is facing federal charges for allegedly shipping restricted technology from the U.S. to Russia without a license, the Department of Justice said.
Kirill Gordei, 35, a freight forwarder, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston in April for one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States; one count of smuggling goods from the United States; and one count of shipping a mass spectrometer abroad in violation of the U.S. Export Control Reform Act.
Gordei was arrested on Sunday by the U.S. Marshals Service and is being held at Broward County’s Joseph V. Conte Facility in Pompano Beach, according to jail records. He is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate in Boston on July 9, according to federal court records.
The indictment alleges that on or about Aug. 11, 2023, Gordei allegedly falsely claimed that he was shipping an Orbitrap Exploris GC 240 Mass Spectrometer to Uzbekistan when it was actually destined for Russia.
An abstract from a report published by the DOJ’s National Institute of Justice notes the spectrometers have a variety of uses, including the testing of seized drugs in criminal cases, the screening of traveler luggage at transportation hubs, and the production of “reliable data for military personnel testing sites for potential chemical weapons release.”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the U.S. government has imposed a series of “stringent export controls” designed to curb Russia’s access to technology and other items that it needs to sustain its attack on Ukraine.
Less than two months later, the government expanded license requirements for exports, re-exports and transfers to Russia to cover “the most sensitive items subject to controls” on a Controlled Commerce List. The spectrometer, valued at over $600,000, was on the list and required a license from the Bureau of Industry and Security, an arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce, for export to Russia.
According to the indictment, which was handed up by a federal grand jury in Boston and unsealed several days ago, Gordei operates a freight forwarding firm in Hallandale Beach called Apelsin Logistics, a company that also maintains two websites that are registered and hosted in Russia.
“As alleged, Gordei defrauded U.S. government export regulators and smuggled advanced scientific technology to Russian customers, placing personal profit over national security,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
“Freight forwarders play an outsized role in the export of items overseas and, accordingly, are expected to help uphold the law rather than subvert it,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod. “Here, Kirill Gordei — the president of a freight forwarding company — is alleged to have willfully evaded restrictions designed to degrade the Russian war machine by obfuscating the value and ultimate destination of a mass spectrometer.”
“By allegedly smuggling sensitive technology to Russia, Mr. Gordei undermined the critical framework established to protect national security,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts. “This case highlights the importance of enforcing export controls, especially regarding sensitive items on the Controlled Commerce List, which include technologies vital to scientific and industrial advancement. Our office will prosecute those who attempt to circumvent U.S. laws for personal or commercial gain, particularly when such actions have potential implications for global security.”
If convicted, the Justice Department said, Gordei faces a maximum of 35 years in prison if found guilty of the three charges combined, and up to $500,000 in fines.
The federal public defender’s office in Boston is assigned to represent Gordei, according to the case file. An attorney assigned to the case could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
