A Kyrgyz national, Sergei Zharnovnikov, was sentenced to 39 months in prison by a federal court in Brooklyn for conspiring to export American-made firearms and ammunition to Russia. United States District Judge Hector Gonzalez presided over the sentencing. According to prosecutors, Zharnovnikov exported more than $1.5 million worth of firearms and ammunition from the United States to Russia through Kyrgyzstan. He does not have lawful permanent resident status and faces deportation after serving his sentence.
The announcement was made by Joseph Nocella, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Terence G. Reilly, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office; and Jonathan Carson, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement in New York.
“The defendant bought American-made, military-grade firearms and ammunition and reexported them to Russia—the same brand of firearms and ammunition known to be used in Russia’s war against Ukraine,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Our sanctions are only as effective as our ability to enforce them. Today’s sentence is a message to would-be violators: breaking this law has serious consequences.”
“Sergei Zharnovnikov circumvented international trade law to illegally provide Russia with American firearms – including semiautomatic rifles – and ammunition worth more than one million dollars,” stated FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Reilly. “His blatant lies directly fueled Russia’s military siege against Ukraine with American-made weapons. May today’s sentencing reflect the FBI’s steadfast commitment to preventing enemy nations from exploiting export restrictions to accomplish their malevolent agendas.”
Court records show that Zharnovnikov operated an arms dealing business based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan Company-1). Since at least March 2020, he conspired with others to export firearms and ammunition controlled by the U.S. Department of Commerce from the United States to Russia.
One transaction involved a five-year contract valued at $900,000 with a U.S.-based company (“U.S. Company-1”) for purchasing firearms intended for export only as far as Kyrgyzstan under license restrictions that specifically prohibited reexporting them to Russia. Despite these conditions, Zharnovnikov sent those weapons on to Russia without proper authorization.
In another case, he exported five rifles from another U.S.-based company (“U.S. Company-2”) through Kyrgyzstan into Russia despite similar license restrictions forbidding such transfers beyond Kyrgyzstan's borders. These rifles have reportedly been used by Russian military snipers during key battles in Ukraine.
Zharnovnikov also conspired with others to illegally reexport U.S.-manufactured ammunition purchased from a third company (“U.S. Company-3”)—13,000 rounds valued at $23,000—from Italy into Kyrgyzstan (and ultimately into Russia), violating license terms that required the munitions remain in Italy.
The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Ellen H. Sise along with Trial Attorney Leslie Esbrook from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Litigation Analyst Rebecca Roth.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York serves as the federal prosecutor's office for Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau County, and Suffolk County within its district boundaries. It manages prosecutions of federal crimes—including cases like this one—and represents the government in civil matters across its jurisdictional area.
