32-year-old woman admits to $7M plot of sending drone, missile tech to Russia

A Canadian-Russian woman has pleaded guilty in a US court to participating in a multimillion-dollar plot to send American components to Russia for use in drones and guided missile systems.

According to a Justice Department statement, Kristina Puzyreva played a key role in an intricate money laundering scheme that sent hundreds of shipments valued at over $7 million to Russia for use against Ukraine.

But you’d never guess that from the 32-year-old’s Instagram profile, where she seems to be living every millennial woman’s dream, traveling the world with her husband ⁠— and co-conspirator ⁠— Nikolay Goltsev.

In reality, the couple ran a sophisticated global procurement scheme using corporate entities registered in New York to unlawfully source and purchase millions of dollars worth of dual-use electronics on behalf of end-users in Russia, including companies affiliated with the Russian military. Some of the electronic components and integrated circuits shipped by the couple are the same make, model, and part number that have been found in seized Russian weapons platforms and signals intelligence equipment in Ukraine.

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Prosecutors said that Puzyreva and Goltsev traveled on multiple occasions from Canada to meet with co-conspirator Salimdzhon Nasriddinov in New York. During such trips, Puzyreva utilized numerous bank accounts to make cash deposits that were later transferred to the couple’s account in Canada.

The government seized $20,000 in cash from the New York hotel room in which Puzyreva was arrested. In total, the government has seized approximately $1.68 million in connection with this scheme.

“Following the money is a law enforcement imperative. [Puzyreva] laundered money on behalf of several Brooklyn front companies to ship US-origin electronics to sanctioned entities in Russia,” says Matthew Axelrod, who handles export enforcement at the Department of Commerce.

Court documents point to a Jan. 2023 text message exchange where Goltsev complained to Puzyreva that a co-conspirator “asked me to make 80 accounts … I am making accounts for 3 mln [i.e., million]. Fingers hurting already from the laptop.”

Puzyreva responded, “Lot of money? We will get rich.”

Later that week, Goltsev messaged Puzyreva, “Dasha (a co-conspirator) paid. 700k.” 

And right on cue, financial records revealed wire transfers totaling approximately $700,000 into Puzyreva’s account from a Hong Kong-based entity as part of an order for a sanctioned Russian entity.

“[Puzyreva] was a necessary player in a scheme to evade export controls and sanctions and ship UAV and missile components to Russia that were later found on the battlefield in Ukraine,” says US Attorney Breon Peace. “Without [her] laundering the proceeds of the scheme, the export scheme would not have worked.”

Puzyreva’s husband Goltsev and Nasriddinov are still awaiting trial. Puzyreva’s sentencing date hasn’t been set yet, but she faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison.