New Jersey man admits to helping Russian military procure supplies

NEW YORK — The U.S. Department of Justice said a 43-year-old New Jersey man admitted to aiding Russia’s efforts to acquire military equipment including “millions of dollars of U.S.-made dual-use electronics used in radar and surveillance.”

Dual-citizen Vadim Yermolenko of Saddle River reportedly pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act and commit bank fraud in a money laundering operation aimed to help his other homeland procure military supplies. The U.S. placed heavy restriction on trade with Russia after Vladimir Putin’s military invaded Ukraine in 2022.

“This defendant admitted to playing a central role in a now-disrupted scheme with Russian intelligence services to smuggle sniper rifle ammunition and U.S. military grade equipment into Russia,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement announcing Friday’s development.

Prosecutors claim the defendant helped establish multiple shell companies and U.S. bank accounts to transfer more than $12 million.

Those funds helped purchase sensitive technologies used in surveillance devices as well as sniper bullets, which the Justice Department said were intercepted in Estonia before they could be snuck into Russia.

“To facilitate the Russian war machine, the defendant played a critical role in exporting sensitive, dual-use technologies to Russia, facilitating shipping and the movement of millions of dollars through U.S. financial institutions,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York said in the Justice Department statement announcing Yermolenko’s guilty plea.

The defendant faces up to 30 years in prison. Seven others were charged in connection with Yermolenko’s activities.