2nd Man Charged in Scheme to Skirt US Sanctions on Russian Oligarch
Sergey Karpushkin, a U.S. businessman and Belarussian national, was charged with participating in a scheme to violate U.S. sanctions on Russian oligarch Sergey Kurchenko and two of his related companies by buying over $150 million in steelmaking materials, DOJ announced April 19. The Belarussian is the second to be charged in the scheme after John Unsalan, president of building materials supplier Metalhouse, was hit with similar charges earlier this week (see 2304180033).
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The U.S. sanctioned Kurchenko in 2015 for misappropriating Ukrainian state assets. In 2018, the U.S. sanctioned the two related companies, Kompaniya Gaz-Alyans, OOO, and ZAO Vneshtorgservis, for providing material support to the separatist governments in Donetsk and Luhansk. Karpushkin, a Miami resident, was charged with one count of conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.