A federal indictment has been unsealed in Brooklyn, charging Natalya Ivanovna Mazulina with allegedly circumventing U.S. export laws and sanctions on Russia. Mazulina, the Western regional manager of a freight forwarding company based in Jamaica, New York, was arrested in Seattle and will be arraigned later in the Eastern District of New York.

The charges were announced by Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Security Division; James E. Dennehy from the FBI's New York Field Office; and James Guanci from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Export Enforcement.

“As alleged, Mazulina used her position as a manager of a freight forwarding company to facilitate unlawful exports to Russia through JFK airport,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Evading U.S export regulations presents a danger to our national security.”

Assistant Attorney General Olsen added that Mazulina “exploited her knowledge of the export business to falsify documents and circumvent U.S. sanctions by illegally shipping oil and gas products to Russian customers.” He emphasized that American companies are critical in the global supply chain and should not be abused for financial gain at the expense of national security.

DOC Special Agent Guanci remarked on collaborating with foreign actors as a serious national security violation: “The Office of Export Enforcement will continue to aggressively investigate efforts to illicitly fuel Russia’s wartime economy.”

The indictment alleges that from December 2022 through December 2024, Mazulina conspired with Russian freight forwarding companies to unlawfully ship controlled items like industrial oil and gas equipment from the U.S. to Russia via intermediary countries. She allegedly concealed this scheme by submitting false export documents.

Mazulina faces multiple charges including conspiracy to export controlled goods without a license, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., money laundering conspiracy, exporting controlled goods without a license, filing false documents, and smuggling goods contrary to U.S. law. If convicted on all counts, she could face up to 20 years imprisonment per count related to exporting without a license.

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Artie McConnell and Matthew Skurnik along with Trial Attorneys Christopher M. Rigali and Adam Barry from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence Section.

This investigation was part of Task Force KleptoCapture which enforces sanctions imposed since 2014 due to Russia's military actions in Ukraine.

Natalya Ivanovna Mazulina is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.