US Sends Estonia $500K in Forfeited Russian Funds, Latvian Man Pleads Guilty to Export Violations
The U.S. transferred nearly $500,000 in "forfeited Russian funds" to Estonia in an attempt to provide aid to Ukraine, DOJ announced on Feb. 17. The move, announced at the Munich Security Conference by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Estonian Secretary General Tonis Saar, is "the first of its kind from the United States to a foreign ally for the express purpose of assisting Ukraine," DOJ said.
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This is the second time Task Force KleptoCapure -- the interagency group charged with enforcing U.S. sanctions on Russia -- has made Russian funds available for Ukraine. It previously gave $5.4 million to the State Department, DOJ said.
The funds to Estonia will be used to fund a project to "expedite damage assessment and critical repairs to the Ukrainian electrical distribution and transmission system, which have been purposefully targeted by Russian forces."
The U.S. seized the funds after the breakup of an illegal procurement network through which Russian actors attempted to import a U.S.-made "jig grinder" used in the defense and nuclear proliferation sectors, DOJ said. It also announced that Latvian citizen Vadims Ananics pleaded guilty to violating U.S. export laws for taking part in the procurement scheme.
Ananics worked as the general manager of Latvia-based CNC Weld and, starting in 2018, conspired with Russian individuals and a Russian company to ship a "500 Series CPWZ Precision jig grinder" made in Connecticut to Russia. The Latvian citizen told the U.S. manufacturer that CNC Weld was the end user, although after the product left the U.S., Ananics said that his company was not the end user. U.S. authorities intercepted the shipment before it made it to Russia, with a judge ordering the forfeiture of $484,696 of payments that had been made to the Connecticut manufacturer.