Merrimack Man Arrested On Russian Smuggling Charges: Court Indictment

MERRIMACK, NH — A man living in Merrimack was arrested on Tuesday after he and six others were indicted on trade sanction violations in U.S. District Court.

Alexey Brayman of Ellie Drive in Merrimack was arrested after an indictment in the Eastern District of New York on smuggling, bank and wire fraud, and other charges. He was charged along with Yevgeniy Grinin, Aleksey Ippolitov, Vadim Konoshchenok, Boris Livshits, Svetlana Skvortsova, and Vadim Yermolenko who were arrested in New Jersey and overseas.

The indictment accuses the seven of working to create “an illicit procurement network operating under the direction of Russia’s intelligence services” to “evade U.S. and Western (country’s) sanctions.” They were accused of acquiring “sensitive military grade and dual-use technologies including advanced semiconductors” for the Russian military, defense sectors, and research institutions, the indictment stated, including the KGB.

The network had been in business since June 2016, with evidenc gathered since 2017, and alleged smuggling dating back to August 2020. In March, one of the shell companies was added to an “entity list,” which led to additional license requirements and export restrictions due to “a determination that the entities included on the list had engaged in activities contrary to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests.”

Also Read

• The full indictment in PDF format
• Detention memo
• Five Russian Nationals, Including Suspected FSB Officer, and Two U.S. Nationals Charged with Helping the Russian Military and Intelligence Agencies Evade Sanctions

Grinin, who is in Russia, later was accused of creating the front company, and worked with others in Russia, Estonia, New Hampshire, and New Jersey, to access materials and equipment.

All involved then created layers of transactions through front companies and bank accounts in jurisdictions worldwide to evade the sanctions. Items were repackaged and reshipped to “several intermediate locations in Europe and Asia before arriving in Russia,” the indictment stated.

Brayman, the indictment noted, was a lawful permanent resident of the United States.

The 48-page indictment was unsealed on Tuesday. It contains 16 different counts of charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act; bank fraud; wire fraud; money laundering; conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act; smuggling goods from the United States; and failure to file electronic export information.

The Boston Globe posted a story on Tuesday highlighting how Brayman and his wife blended into a normal life in Merrimack and New Hampshire, attending events around New England, before he was accused of smuggling and trade sanction violations. Read the full report on the Boston Globe’s website.

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