Russian-Montrealer Nikolay Goltsev was sentenced Wednesday to 40 months in prison in the United States for conspiring to ship restricted electronic devices to Russia that were later used in the president’s invasion of Ukraine Vladimir Putin.
The sentence was announced by the US Department of Justice. He had accused Goltsev of secretly shipping more than $10 million worth of restricted electronics to the Kremlin for use in missile systems, helicopter gunships and signals intelligence systems in the war in Ukraine .
“Goltsev and his wife believed they would ‘get rich’ running an illicit global sourcing scheme to supply sanctioned end users in Russia,” said Kevin J. Kurland, acting assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce for export repression. “Instead, they were sentenced to prison.”
Goltsev was arrested in 2023 in New York and accused of orchestrating a global procurement program on behalf of sanctioned Russian companies, including Russian military companies, with the help of his wife, Kristina Puzyreva, who also arrested and who was also convicted and imprisoned in 2023. the case.
Goltsev’s conviction sends a strong message that those who break U.S. laws and contribute to Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine “will be held accountable,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Division of National Security of the Department of Justice.
“The Justice Department will vigorously pursue those who purchase the components that power Russia’s war machine. This case demonstrates that these criminals will be found and punished accordingly,” he added.
Some of the electronic components shipped by Goltsev were later found in Russian weapons systems, platforms and intelligence collection equipment seized in Ukraine.
U.S. justice officials released a series of explosive text messages between Goltsev and Puzyreva, proving the pair knew their actions supported Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Kristina Puzyreva and Nikolai Goltsesv in Cuba seen in this photo she posted to Instagram on February 25, 2020. They were arrested in New York in 2023.
On their social networks and among their friends in Montreal, the couple publicly presented themselves as supporters of Ukraine, even posting a photo of themselves with a meme of the Ukrainian flag. But the private messages put forward different points of view.
In 2022, after Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine, Goltsev and Puzyreva posted this photo on social media featuring the Ukrainian flag meme to indicate their support.
In a May 30, 2023, text message conversation between co-defendant Puzyreva and Goltsev, shared by U.S. justice officials, the pair allegedly discussed a drone attack in Moscow and their support for Russia:
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Pouzyreva: “What is Putin waiting for? He must destroy Ukraine.”
Goltsev: “Yeah, they’re going to get fucked anyway.”
Puzyreva: “He must scare them. These losers.
Goltsev: “Well, the way he acts, they have the right to do the same.”
Puzyreva: “I hate (ethnic insults against Ukrainians) anyway. »
Goltsev’s plea deal shows he agreed to forfeit and pay US$4 million and return assets worth an additional US$1.68 million that were seized by FBI investigators and Homeland Security during their months-long investigation.
He also agreed not to appeal a sentence of less than 46 months in prison, according to a copy of the plea agreement.
Goltsev also agreed to be deported from the United States, possibly to be returned to Canada or Russia, a copy of the plea agreement shows. There was no news this Wednesday.
In July, Puzyreva was sentenced to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to launder proceeds from the illegal electronics export scheme.
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