A 33-year-old citizen of Belarus, Yana Leonova (Yana Liavonava), formerly residing in Russia, has been extradited from France to the United States. She is accused of conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act, smuggling, money laundering, and defrauding the U.S. government. The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, according to the agency’s press release.
Leonova appeared before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The investigation involves the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
According to the indictment, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in May 2022 Leonova, with the assistance of accomplices based in the United States, organized the illegal purchase and export to Russia of aircraft equipment and other components. The goods were intended for private jets operated by her former employer, a company included on the U.S. Department of Commerce sanctions list.
It is alleged that Leonova and her associates purchased aircraft parts from American suppliers and then shipped them to Russia through intermediary companies registered in Armenia, the Maldives, and other countries, without obtaining the required export licenses.
The indictment states that Leonova and her co-conspirators repeatedly concealed and falsified information about the true end users and destinations of the aviation components, providing false data in documentation. The defendant allegedly organized the shipment of goods to Russia through intermediary destinations and arranged the transfer of U.S. dollar payments from foreign bank accounts to bank accounts in the United States.
“The defendant sought to circumvent U.S. law to enrich herself by acquiring and unlawfully exporting aircraft equipment and other restricted items from the United States to Russia,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. “She used intermediary countries to conceal the identity of the end recipient in Russia, where U.S. Department of Commerce licenses were required.”
According to FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky, the investigation showed that Leonova allegedly took part in selling sensitive aviation technologies to Russia, bypassing export restrictions. He emphasized that the FBI considers preventing the transfer of U.S. technologies to adversaries a priority and urged businesses to report any violations.
“The Bureau of Industry and Security’s Export Enforcement remains firmly committed to protecting U.S. national security and maintaining the integrity of our export control system,” added BIS regional director Jonathan Carson. “In close cooperation with our law enforcement and international partners, we will continue to identify and dismantle illicit procurement networks wherever they operate.”
The FBI expressed gratitude to the team of investigators, the Department of Justice, the U.S. Marshals Service, and French partners for their assistance in Leonova’s extradition.
The investigation is being conducted by the FBI office in Kansas City and the BIS field offices in Atlanta and New York.