Brooklyn Man Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Drone Tech to Russia

BROOKLYN, NY – Nikolay Grigorev, 35, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States for his role in an illicit export control scheme to ship electronic components from the United States to companies affiliated with the Russian military.

Grigorev’s guilty plea comes after he admitted to conspiring to supply Russia with U.S.-sourced, dual-use technologies, knowing full well that his actions violated export controls and sanctions designed to stop those items from being sent to Russia and used in the production of drones like those found on the battlefields in Ukraine.

According to the indictment, Grigorev utilized a Brooklyn-based corporate entity, Quality Life Cue LLC (“QLC”), to facilitate the scheme. QLC was registered and controlled by Grigorev and co-defendant Artem Oloviannikov, with Arkhipov utilizing a QLC email account from Russia.

Through QLC, the defendants procured dual-use electronic components worth over $250,000, which they then shipped to Russian companies fueling Putin’s unlawful war against Ukraine. As alleged in the indictment, Grigorev intentionally avoided export controls by masking his business’s production and shipment of technologies designed to support Russian military operations.

“Grigorev admitted today that he conspired to supply Russia with U.S.-sourced, dual-use technologies, knowing full well that his actions violated export controls and sanctions designed to stop those items from being sent to Russia and used in the production of drones like those found on the battlefields in Ukraine,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace.

When sentenced, Grigorev faces up to five years in prison. Co-defendants Nikita Arkhipov and Artem Oloviannikov remain at large. The FBI and DOC-BIS-OEE investigations have disrupted the illicit flow of technology to support the Russian war machine, and the Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those who defy our sanctions and export controls to support Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression in Ukraine.

“In pleading guilty today, the defendant admitted he conspired to smuggle over $250,000 worth of sensitive American drone technology to Russian companies fueling Putin’s unlawful war against Ukraine,” stated Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco.

The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those who defy our sanctions and export controls to support Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression in Ukraine. The guilty plea reinforces our commitment to hold accountable those who violate our laws and our determination to undermine the Russian government’s unjustified campaign of aggression against the Ukrainian people.

When I visited Ukraine last November, I saw firsthand the death and destruction that such drones and other Russian weapons of war have caused and heard from our counterparts about the importance of stopping the illicit flow of technology to support the Russian war machine,” stated Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen.

Nikolay Grigorev’s guilty plea demonstrates the direct impact that OEE investigations have in supporting U.S. national security interests. The FBI prioritizes all threats to our national security and will disrupt any entity attempting to covertly collaborate with our adversaries.