Madison Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Illicitly Exporting Lab Equipment to Russia

Sentencing is scheduled for October 7 under charges that he used third-country transshipment points to skirt export controls on dual-use items.

Overview

Andrew Pogosyan, 68, admitted in federal court to conspiracy to defraud the United States and smuggling under the Export Control Reform Act.
Prosecutors say from September 2022 through October 2023 he shipped scientific and diagnostic research components to Russia without the required Bureau of Industry and Security licenses.
He routed equipment through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Latvia and Lithuania to conceal its final destination from U.S. authorities.
The unlicensed exports violated controls imposed in February 2022 and expanded in September 2022 to curb Russian access to items useful for chemical or biological weapons programs.
The case resulted from a joint investigation by the FBI, the Commerce Department’s Office of Export Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations.