LA businessman charged with illegal export of restricted technology to Russia

LOS ANGELES – A businessman has been arrested in Los Angeles in connection with an alleged scheme to ship restricted technology to a Russian company that the United States has sanctioned for its involvement in the war in Ukraine, officials announced on Friday.

Ilya Kahn, 66, is a citizen of the United States, Israel and Russia and has homes in Brooklyn, New York, and Los Angeles, prosecutors said in documents filed in federal court in New York.

According to court documents, Kahn is charged with conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act. He is expected to make his initial appearance Thursday in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen says violations of US sanctions and export control laws that aid Russia and other hostile powers will be met with the full force of the Justice Department. Image: DOJ website

“Mr. Kahn stands accused of repeatedly exporting sensitive technology to Russia before, during, and after Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the US Department of Justice’s National Security Division said in a statement.

“Violations of US sanctions and export control laws that aid Russia and other hostile powers endanger our nation’s security and will be met with the full force of the Justice Department.”Kahn is alleged to have unlawfully sent specialized technology from the United States to a Russian semiconductor manufacturer with ties to multiple other sanctioned Russian entities, and did so by circumventing U.S. export laws and regulations, according to the DOJ.

According to prosecutors, in 2019, Kahn exported multiple US-origin microcontrollers to a Russian company, and in 2022, exported US-origin network interface controllers and a radio-frequency transmitter to Russia by way of a Hong Kong-based shipping company. Each of these items required an export license from the US Commerce Department, which Kahn did not obtain, and were controlled for national security and anti-terrorism reasons, court documents show.

If convicted, Kahn faces up to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to violate the ECRA, the DOJ noted. (CNS)