US Charges NY, CA Resident With Arranging Export of Semiconductors to Sanctioned Company

Ilya Kahn, a citizen of the U.S., Russia and Israel, was arrested on Jan. 17 for allegedly aiding a scheme to illicitly ship sensitive technology from the U.S. to a sanctioned Russian business, DOJ announced. Kahn was charged in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California with conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act.

The New York and California resident owns software development companies Senesys Inc. and Sensor Design Association and as such, directs the "testing of silicon wafers for military avionics and space users," DOJ said. While operating as owner of the companies, Kahn "engaged in a years-long conspiracy to acquire and export sensitive and sophisticated electronics," the U.S. alleged.

Kahn supposedly shipped the technology to a sanctioned Russian firm -- Joint Stock Company Research and Development Center Elvees. The business was added to the U.S. Russia sanctions regime due to its "critical role in facilitating Russia's military and its invasion of Ukraine," DOJ noted.

In 2019, Kahn allegedly shipped microcontrollers to Elvees, and in 2022, he sent network interface controllers and a radio-frequency transmitter to the business via a Hong Kong-based shipping company. Kahn also arranged for Elvees to receive Taiwan-origin semiconductors, though after the Taiwanese manufacturer refused to ship the goods, Kahn "arranged for the semiconductors to be sent to the United States and then re-exported" to Russia, "often through" a shipping firm based in New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.

Kahn faces a maximum 20-year prison stint. Matthew Axelrod, assistant secretary for export enforcement for the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, said that the "arrest reflects our continued aggressive enforcement of export control violations involving the Russian military and the Federal Security Service," adding that stopping semiconductors and sensitive technologies from ending up in sanctioned Russian hands "is a critical priority for BIS and our Disruptive Technology Strike Force partners."