Former Aeroflot employee convicted in US over $900,000 aircraft parts smuggling scheme

A federal jury in the Southern District of Florida convicted a former Aeroflot employee on twelve counts tied to a scheme to smuggle aircraft parts to Russia, the U.S. Department of Justice said. The verdict came on August 28, 2026, after a trial.

Prosecutors said the defendant worked with another Russian national to acquire aircraft components from American suppliers after the United States tightened export controls on Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The counts included conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act, illegal export of controlled goods, smuggling, submission of false export information, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Court documents and testimony cited by the Justice Department describe how the pair allegedly misrepresented the final destination of the parts to suppliers, claiming shipments were headed to the United Arab Emirates or China. Prosecutors said the goods were in fact routed to Russia and to Aeroflot, the Russian state-owned carrier.

According to prosecutors, the case turned less on the purchase of the parts themselves than on the alleged concealment of where they ultimately ended up. U.S. export rules restrict the sale or transfer of American-origin goods to Russia. Separately, the Commerce Department issued a Temporary Denial Order against Aeroflot, barring it from receiving U.S.-origin products after the war expanded.

The indictment in the case was filed in April 2025. Sentencing details were not included in the available material.