US arrests laser tech salesman for illegal exports to Russia
Adds not guilty plea in paragraph 3
By Nate Raymond
BOSTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) -A former salesman for a manufacturer of laser welding machines was arrested on Monday on charges that he conspired to evade U.S. export control laws in order to sell his company's products to a division of the Russian state nuclear company Rosatom.
Sam Bhambhani was charged in an indictment with working with a Russian citizen who resold laser equipment to the Russian government. It alleges they used falsified export documents to conceal the true end-user of the machines from the U.S. government.
Bhambhani, a resident of North Attleboro, Massachusetts, was released on a personal recognizance bond after pleading not guilty to conspiracy and smuggling charges during a court hearing in Boston. A defense lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the indictment, Bhambhani was employed as a salesman for a global supplier of laser equipment used for welding, marking, cutting, deep engraving and motion systems with facilities in Rhode Island and Florida.
The equipment was sold from 2015 to 2021 to a subsidiary of Rosatom in Yekaterinburg, Russia, that produced components for nuclear munitions and various civilian goods, according to the indictment.
Charging documents allege that Bhambhani at times discussed with the alleged reseller, a Russian citizen named Maxim Teslenko, the need to find ways to get around U.S. export controls to make sales possible.
"Also, we will have to figure out the shipment and invoicing as now there are too many controls put on export to Russia. "Politics!," he wrote to Teslenko in 2020, according to the indictment.
The U.S. government has restricted the ability of companies to export items that Russia could use in its defense, aerospace, and maritime industries even further following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Teslenko also was charged in the indictment. He resides in Moscow and was not in U.S. custody, according to court records. A defense lawyer could not be identified.
Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Bill Berkrot
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
