Under the guidance of District Judge Hector Gonzalez, it was established that the defendant was exporting firearms and ammunition from the United States to Russia via Kyrgyzstan, with a total value exceeding $1.5 million.
It is worth noting that the 47-year-old man is not a permanent resident of the U.S., and he faces deportation following the sentence.
According to the investigation materials, S.J. owned a firearms company in Bishkek and, since March 2020, had been planning with accomplices to export firearms controlled by the U.S. Department of Commerce to Russia. The total value of the exported weapons amounted to $1,582,836. As part of one deal, he signed a five-year contract worth $900,000 with an American company to supply weapons to Kyrgyzstan, despite a prohibition on re-exporting to Russia specified in the license.
Nevertheless, the native of Kyrgyzstan successfully exported weapons, including semi-automatic rifle-pistols, from the U.S. to Russia via Kyrgyzstan.
In another deal, he also re-exported five rifles to Russia through Kyrgyzstan, which had been purchased from another American company. The license for these rifles also prohibited their export outside Kyrgyzstan. It is known that these rifles were used by Russian snipers involved in significant battles on Ukrainian territory.
Additionally, the defendant participated in the illegal re-export of American ammunition through Italy to Kyrgyzstan and then to Russia. Together with others, he ordered and received 13,000 rounds of ammunition worth $23,000 from a third American company, which were delivered to Bishkek via Italy. The license for the ammunition stipulated that it must remain in Italy; however, it was illegally exported. According to available information, this ammunition was also used in the conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
It should be noted that on January 24, 2025, the citizen of Kyrgyzstan was detained in Las Vegas, where he was attending the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show and negotiating with American suppliers.
