San Antonio, Texas – A Bulgarian national has been extradited from Greece and charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Export Control Reform Act in a scheme to procure sensitive radiation-hardened integrated circuits from the United States and illegally export those components to Russia through Bulgaria.
Milan Dimitrov, 50, made his initial appearance in a federal court in San Antonio Monday after being extradited from Greece. Dimitrov allegedly conspired with Ilias Sabirov, 52, of Russia, and Dimitar Dimitrov, 74, of Bulgaria, to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA).
According to the indictment, between at least May 2014 and May 2018, the defendants used the Bulgarian company Multi Technology Integration Group EEOD (MTIG) to receive export-controlled items from the United States and transship them to Russia without the required licenses. Sabirov is the head of two Russian companies—Cosmos Complect and OOO Sovtest Comp.—and controls MTIG. Both Dimitar Dimitrov and Milan Dimitrov worked for Sabirov at Cosmos Complect and MTIG.
The indictment alleges that in 2014, the defendants met with the supplier of the radiation-hardened circuits in Austin and were informed that radiation-hardened circuits could not be shipped to Russia because of U.S. trade restrictions. Sabirov then established MTIG in Bulgaria to purchase the controlled electronic circuits, which did not require a license for export to Bulgaria. The radiation-hardened properties of these circuits made them resistant to damage or malfunction in the harsh outer-space environment. The circuits were controlled for export to Russia for these very reasons.
In 2015, MTIG shipped the radiation-hardened components to Bulgaria, where they were soon thereafter transshipped to Sabirov’s companies in Russia. OOO Sovtest Comp. transferred over $1 million to MTIG for the parts. In the same timeframe, MTIG—at Sabirov’s direction—ordered over $1.7 million in other electronic components produced by another U.S.-based electronics manufacturer. MTIG bought these parts to fulfill part of its contract with OOO Sovtest Comp.
Millan Dimitrov faces two counts of IEEPA violations, one count of money laundering, and one count of making false statements to the Department of Commerce in violation of ECRA. Each count in the indictment carries up to 20 years in federal prison. An indictment merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Export Control Violation
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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