Seattle man arrested on indictment for illegally shipping restricted items to Russia by going through straw buyers in Turkey, Korea, and Kazakhstan

Seattle - A 53-year-old Seattle man was arrested this morning on a twelve-count indictment charging he illegally conspired to ship restricted goods to Russia, violating sanctions put in place after Russia invaded Ukraine, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Ilya Pankov, aka Ilia Pankov worked for Pacific Route Inc. also known as Pacific Terminals and allegedly conspired to evade United States' export control laws and regulations and smuggle export-controlled mining and other equipment to Russia, without the required license and authorization. Pankov appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle today and entered a plea of "Not guilty." Trial was scheduled in front of U.S. District Judge Tana Lin on January 4, 2027.

"As alleged in the indictment, Mr. Pankov conspired with others to find ways to send restricted items to a variety of companies in Russia, and then lied about it to export regulators," said Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. "The email exchanges capture in real time the ways they worked to subvert the export control system while they openly discussed using these third-party business in other countries to break the law."

"The 12 counts in this indictment are wide ranging, but all tied into our core mission of investigating the illegal movement of people, goods, money, contraband, weapons and sensitive technology into, out of and through the United States," said Acting HSI Seattle Special Agent in Charge April Miller. "We will continue to investigate anyone who chooses to circumvent the laws of the United States in these areas."

According to the indictment, Pacific Route is a procurement company, established in 2008 and incorporated in Washington State, that exports construction and mining equipment. Pankov is one of the principals of Pacific Route and the company's registered agent. The indictment alleges that in February and March 2022, after more restrictions were placed on what goods could be exported to Russia, Pankov conspired with others to continue to ship goods to Russian companies by first sending them to companies in Korea, Turkey, or Kazakhstan, which then sent the goods on to the companies in Russia.

In furtherance of the crime, Pankov and others filed false Electronic Export Information and misrepresented whether a license was needed for the export. The indictment identifies four shipments in 2023 and 2024 that were illegally exported. The indictment identifies two communications in 2024 where Pankov submitted false statements to CBP regarding two shipments that had been seized due to violations of U.S. sanctions. In those communications Pankov falsely claimed that the straw-buyer in Korea was the end user of the items when he knew the items were being shipped to Russian companies by way of Korea.

The indictment alleges that at least $225,000 in proceeds from the illegal sales were then laundered through bank accounts connection with Pacific Route Inc.

Conspiracy is punishable by up to five years in prison. Unlawful exporting of goods is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Smuggling goods from the U.S. is punishable by up to ten years in prison. Making false statements is punishable by up to five years in prison. Conspiracy to commit money laundering is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigation (HSI). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachel Yemini in collaboration with the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section (CES)Links to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. a specialized unit within the U.S. Department of Justice's National Security Division (NSD)Links to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..