Latvian citizen Oleg Chistyakov, also known as Olegs Čitsjakovs, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate U.S. export laws by illegally exporting avionics equipment to Russia and other countries operating Russian-built aircraft. According to court documents, Chistyakov worked with U.S. citizens Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky and Douglas Edward Robertson of Kansas in a scheme that included filing false export forms and continuing the illegal activity after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Buyanovsky and Robertson were charged and arrested in Kansas in March 2023 and have since pleaded guilty. The three facilitated the sale, repair, and shipment of U.S.-origin avionics equipment to customers including the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB). Despite additional economic countermeasures imposed on Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Chistyakov and his co-conspirators continued smuggling controlled technology without obtaining licenses from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Chistyakov operated out of Latvia and used his Emirati company RosAero FZC to work with Buyanovsky and Robertson’s U.S.-based KanRus Trading Company Inc. Together, they circumvented export controls by purchasing equipment from American companies for Russian clients. The conspirators took steps to hide their activities by creating false invoices, routing shipments through third-party countries such as Laos and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), using bank accounts in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the UAE, and exporting goods via intermediary companies that then sent them on to their final destinations.
As part of his plea agreement, Chistyakov agreed to a personal forfeiture judgment. He faces up to five years in prison; sentencing is scheduled for March 10, 2026.
"Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg, U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser for the District of Kansas, and Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI Counterintelligence Division made the announcement."
The FBI along with the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement led the investigation into this case. Prosecutors include Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Rask and Ryan Huschka from Kansas as well as Trial Attorney Adam Barry from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs secured Chistyakov’s arrest in Latvia and extradition in August 2024; substantial assistance was also provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
