Former Kansas aviation business executive Douglas Edward Robertson was sentenced on June 12 to 32 months in prison. He pleaded guilty on July 2, 2024, to export control and money laundering violations tied to avionics equipment exports to Russia, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas.
Robertson, 58, of Olathe, Kansas, was formerly vice president of KanRus Trading Company, a Kansas-based business that supplied Western avionics equipment and repair services for Russian aircraft. Robertson was arrested in March 2023 after federal prosecutors said he and others continued exporting controlled avionics equipment to Russian customers after U.S. export restrictions were tightened in 2022.
Court documents say Robertson and co-defendants used false export information, misstated values and destinations, and routed shipments through other countries. Former KanRus broker Oleg Chistyakov, of Latvia, was sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to his role in the scheme. Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, former president and owner of the company, also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
“The U.S. changed trade restrictions with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine for a reason,” U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser said in the sentencing announcement. “These defendants put money over country and considered themselves more clever than Customs officials. They thought they could circumvent the restrictions without being detected, but they were wrong. Smugglers can’t fly under the radar without federal investigators ultimately uncovering their criminal activities.”
In a July 2024 guilty plea announcement, the Justice Department said Robertson admitted he conspired with Buyanovsky, Chistyakov and others to ship U.S.-origin avionics equipment to Russian end users while filing false export forms and failing to file required forms.
Separate court filings also described a 2021 shipment involving a repaired Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) unit that prosecutors said was returned to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) after repairs were completed in the United States.
“Robertson, by his own admission, conspired to sell advanced U.S. avionics equipment to Russian customers in violation of U.S. law,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen said. “The Justice Department will not tolerate those who seek to undermine the effectiveness of export controls that protect critical U.S. technology and deter Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.”
