US Offering Reward for Information on Alleged Russian Sanctions Evader

The State Department is offering up to a $7 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Artem Aleksandrovich Uss, a Russian national who allegedly tried to violate U.S. export controls and sanctions. The agency said Uss used German industrial equipment company Nord-Deutsche Industrieanlagenbau GmbH to illegally export millions of dollars worth of military and sensitive dual-use technologies from the U.S. to Russia. He was also accused of using the U.S. financial system for payments related to the smuggling of millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil.

The U.S. charged Uss with various crimes last year, including conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as part of a 12-count indictment against a global procurement, smuggling and money laundering network (see 2210200021). Uss allegedly helped to “orchestrate” the network, the State Department said.