Israeli pleads guilty to shipping US-made avionics to Russia, violating sanctions

An Israeli national pleaded guilty Monday in a US court to charges that he illegally shipped American aircraft parts and avionics to Russia, in violation of export controls imposed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Gal Haimovich, 49, admitted to deceiving American companies about the destination of goods, including some that had missile technology applications, which he supplied to intermediaries en route to Russian customers, the US Justice Department said in a statement Tuesday.

Haimovich directed more than 160 shipments between at least March 2022 and May 2023 to companies in the Maldives and the United Arab Emirates, for ultimate delivery to Russia, the statement said.