SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Russian-American citizen who attempted to smuggle two planes from Savannah to Russia was arrested on Monday, accused of violating sanctions and federal law, prosecutors in the U.S. Southern District of Georgia claim in a federal indictment.
They say Sergey Nechaev was arrested in Georgia on multiple charges, including violating the Exporting Control Reform Act and submitting false information to authorities in hopes of concealing the true destination of the planes.
In an indictment, prosecutors claim Nechaev attempted to smuggle a 1968 Cessna 172K and a 1973 Cessna to a Russian flight school back in 2023, but didn't have the required licenses or approval from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Complicating his efforts, prosecutors say, are the sanctions leveled against Russia in February 2022 after their invasion of Ukraine. That made his exporting of the planes a violation of U.S. sanctions against Russia.
But to evade those sanctions, prosecutors claim Nechaev lied on forms, listing the plane's end destination as Armenia and not Russia. Once the planes arrived in Armenia, prosecutors believe the planes would then be transported to the Russian flight schools.
As the planes were about to be shipped, authorities detained the two planes on March 2023 as they were set to be exported from Savannah, the indictment claims.
Federal authorities seized those planes, which were valued at $170,000.
They say Nechaev faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
He is charged with Violating the Export Control Reform Act, smuggling goods contrary to U.S. law and submitting false and misleading information in Electronic Export Information paperwork and Automated Export Systems.