New Delhi: A New Delhi resident has been indicted on charges of seeking to obtain an aircraft flight-control system for entities in Russia, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday.
The 57-year-old, the DOJ alleges, attempted to bypass export controls, using “under the false pretence that they would be supplied to Kaushik and his Indian company, when in fact they were destined for Russian end users”.
Sanjay Kaushik, the indictment says, was arrested last month in Florida while negotiating the sale of an Attitude Heading Reference System, which is a device that provides navigation using sensors which provide information on the aircraft’s roll, pitch and yaw. The equipment is used in both civilian and military aircraft.
The equipment, an aviation source said, is also embedded in inertial guidance systems, which allow aircraft and missiles to navigate independently of radio signals, like those used by Global Positioning Systems.
Kaushik’s firm Arezo Aviation Services advertised itself as dealing in “aircraft spare parts, lubricant, and pilot supply.” According to archived copies of its now-disabled website, the company also offered charter, air ambulance, and cargo services.
Kaushik, US government records show, is being held at a medium-security prison at Sheridan, Oregon. Indian diplomatic sources said he had not yet requested or been provided consular support.
The case is the latest in a series of actions against Indian firms alleged to helping Russia evade Ukraine war-related sanctions. Earlier this month, the United States announced sanctions on 19 Indian companies it alleged were routing military-use equipment to Russia. Four more companies were sanctioned in October, on similar charges.
According to the indictment, Kaushik and unnamed co-conspirators began plotting to obtain aviation equipment for Russia in March 2023, but it was unclear if the company had made past purchases.
“Kaushik and his co-conspirators obtained the AHRS—which was ultimately detained before it was exported from the United States—on behalf of and with the intention of shipping it, through India, to a customer in Russia,” according to the indictment.
Faced with sanctions, Russian airlines have increasingly turned to imports of key spare parts through third countries like the UAE, Türkiye and China, journalists Roman Romanovskiy and Lizaveta Tsyibulina revealed last month, using customs data. The flow of spare parts, a separate investigation by Reuters earlier showed, included navigation equipment made by American defence firm Northrop Grumman.
According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, Russian airlines have been forced to ground 34 of their 66 Airbus A320 Neo aircraft—estimated to make up about 10 percent of the overall transport fleet—because of the absence of engine service.
Large numbers of individuals have been indicted in recent months for seeking to bypass sanctions. In September, the Department of Justice charged Virginia-based Russian nationals Dmitri and Anastasia Simes for buying artwork and antiques for oligarch Aleksandr Yevgenyevich Udodov.
And, last month, the Department of Justice announced sanctions against 275 individuals and companies in India, China, Switzerland, Thailand, and Türkiye. Financial organisations which facilitated the purchases were also targeted by these sanctions
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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