In Portland, Oregon, a man from Delhi, India was sentenced to federal prison for conspiring with others to export controlled aviation components and a navigation and flight control system to end users in Russia, in violation of the Export Control Reform Act.
Sanjay Kaushik, 58, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and 36 months of supervised release.
According to court documents and following yesterday's sentencing, beginning in early September 2023, Kaushik conspired with others to unlawfully obtain aerospace goods and technology from the United States for entities in Russia. The goods were purchased under the false pretense that they would be supplied to Kaushik and his Indian company, when in fact they were destined for Russian end users.
“Those who scheme to circumvent U.S. export control laws—especially when it involves technologies with military applications—will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “The security of the United States demands that perpetrators of deceitful schemes like this one are held accountable for their actions.”
In one such instance, Kaushik and his co-conspirators purchased an Attitude and Heading Reference System, which is a device that provides navigation and flight control data for aircraft, from an Oregon-based supplier. Components such as the AHRS require a license from the Department of Commerce to be exported to certain countries, including Russia. To obtain an export license for the AHRS, Kaushik and his co-conspirators falsely claimed that Kaushik’s Indian company was the end purchaser and that the component would be used in a civilian helicopter. 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.
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“This was no lapse in judgment. It was a calculated, profit-driven scheme involving repeated transactions, substantial gains, and coordination with foreign co-conspirators, including sanctioned Russian entities,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Scott E. Bradford. “This defendant sought, on multiple occasions, to undermine safeguards critical to U.S. national security and foreign policy for his own personal gain.”
Kaushik was arrested in Miami, Florida, on October 17, 2024, pursuant to a criminal complaint and arrest warrant and has remained in custody since then.
On November 20, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a three-count indictment charging Kaushik with conspiring and attempting to export products in violation of the Export Control Reform Act and the Export Administration Regulations, specifically attempting to illegally export a navigation and flight control system from Oregon to Russia through India, and false statements in connection with an export.
On October 9, 2025, Kaushik pleaded guilty to count one of the indictment, conspiring to sell export-controlled aviation components with dual civilian and military applications to end users in Russia.
The sentencing was announced by Scott E. Bradford, United States Attorney for the District of Oregon, Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg of the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and Special Agent in Charge Brent Burmester of the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), San Jose Field Office.
BIS Portland investigated the case, with valuable assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Gregory R. Nyhus, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, and Trial Attorney Emma Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.
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