FBI searching for Russian nationals allegedly connected to smuggling ring tied to Merrimack man
By Tim Callery
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MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (WMUR) — The FBI is searching for four Russian nationals who investigators say are connected to an alleged scheme to funnel banned technology and equipment to Russia.
Investigators said the ring passed through New Hampshire, leading to the arrest of a Merrimack man, who is facing federal charges in the case.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Eastern New York, Aleksey Ippolitov received requests from Russia and relayed them to Yevgeniy Alexandrovich Grinin and Svetlana Skvortsova, who were employees of a Moscow-based company that operated under the direction of Russian intelligence services.
Their goal was to obtain advanced electronics and sophisticated testing equipment for Russia’s military, according to prosecutors.
Grinin was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Authorities said Boris Livshits was tapped to obtain items from U.S. companies. They said he used an alias and lied on statements about how the items would be used.
Those items were sent to the Merrimack home of Alexey Brayman, investigators said. Federal officials said Brayman fabricated shipping documents and invoices, repackaged and reshipped items to destinations around the world before they arrived in Russia.
Authorities also accuse Brayman of helping Livshits set up and manage dozens of shell companies and corresponding bank accounts throughout the United States that were used in the scheme.
A man from New Jersey and another Russian national were also indicted in the case and are in custody.
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