Armenian middleman sentenced in US over Russia sanctions evasion

A federal court in Austin, Texas, has sentenced Armenian citizen Kamo Kirakosyan to two years and two months in prison for evading US sanctions against Russia and supplying equipment from the United States to a Russian company.

According to court documents, Kirakosyan acted as an intermediary between February 2022 and August 2024, purchasing components used in the production of US-made goods, including semiconductors, and reselling them to Russia.

Kirakosyan allegedly presented himself to US companies as a buyer operating in Armenia while concealing the ultimate recipients of the goods. Court documents said he worked with the Russian company.

He was arrested in Germany in 2024 and extradited to the United States in August 2025.

The FBI San Antonio Counterintelligence Task Force, comprised of the Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and other partners, led the investigation. The FBI’s Legal Attaché office in Berlin provided significant assistance. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also played a key role in securing Kirakosyan’s extradition to the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Roomberg and Keith Henneke prosecuted the case with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

US authorities said the case marks the first conviction of an Armenian citizen in the United States for evading sanctions against Russia in the past four years.