Greenbelt, Maryland - United States District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Boris Rubizhevsky, age 67, of Closter, New Jersey to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering in connection with his role in arranging corrupt payments to influence the awarding of contracts with the Russian state-owned nuclear energy corporation. Judge Chuang also ordered Rubizhevsky to forfeit $26,500.
The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Acting Inspector General April Stephenson of the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Energy; and Assistant Director in Charge Andrew G. Vale of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Washington Field Office.
According to court documents, Rubizhevsky acted as an intermediary in connection with corrupt payments to co-conspirator Vadim Mikerin, the former director of the Pan American Department of JSC Techsnabexport (TENEX), a subsidiary of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation and the sole supplier and exporter of Russian Federation uranium and uranium enrichment services to nuclear power companies worldwide.
According to his plea agreement, between October 2011 and February 2013, Rubizhevsky and Mikerin agreed to conceal corrupt payments being made from the United States to overseas bank accounts for the benefit of Mikerin, including payment to a foreign bank account located in Latvia. Rubizhevsky admitted that the conspirators used sham consulting agreements to disguise the corrupt payments.
Mikerin previously admitted that he conspired with Rubizhevsky and others to transmit more than $2 million from Maryland, and elsewhere in the United States, to offshore shell company bank accounts located in Cyprus, Latvia and Switzerland with the intent to promote violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Mikerin pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy in August 2015, and was sentenced in December 2015 to 48 months in prison for his role in the money laundering scheme.
Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning praised the DOE-OIG and FBI for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant United States Attorneys David I. Salem and Michael T. Packard, Assistant Chiefs Chris Cestaro and Ephraim Wernick and Trial Attorney Derek Ettinger of the U.S. Department of Justice Fraud Section, who prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
