Postovoy transported to Pinellas County Jail
A Russian citizen living in Sarasota has been indicted on charges related to his alleged exports to Russia of “microelectronic components with military applications,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced on Sept. 16.
Those microelectronics “can be used in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones,” a news release pointed out.
Denis Postovoy, 44, who was arrested by the U.S. Marshal’s Service on the morning of Sept. 16 in Sarasota, formally has been accused of conspiring to violate the U.S. Export Control Reform Act, and “to commit smuggling, to commit money laundering, and to defraud the United States,” a news release said.
Postovoy was booked into the Pinellas County Jail about 5:25 p.m. on Sept. 16, jail record shows.
“The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen with the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, and Homeland Security Investigations (‘HIS’) Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin of HSI’s Denver Field Office, the release added.
The indictment alleges that Postovoy’s actions began at least in February 2022, “following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” the release said.
“Through a web of companies that he owns or operates in Russia, Hong Kong, and elsewhere, Postovoy and individuals in his network purchased the microelectronics from U.S.-based distributors and exported them to Russia without the required licenses from the U.S. Department of Commerce,” the release explained.
“According to the indictment, this defendant illegally exported dual-use technology to Russia that could bolster its capabilities to wage its unprovoked war against Ukraine,” said U.S. Attorney Graves in the release. “As alleged, he lied about the final destination for the technology he was shipping and used intermediary destinations to mask this illegal activity,” Graves continued. “Fortunately, our skilled law enforcement partners at HSI and our dedicated attorneys unraveled the plot.”
“Our stellar agents will continue to investigate these crimes alongside our strike force partners and the Department of Justice and hold accountable these criminals who threaten the security of the United States,” Special Agent in Charge Spradlin, of HSI Denver, added in the release.
“As alleged,” the release continued, Postovoy’s companies included WowCube HK Limited, JST Group Hong Kong, and Jove HK Limited, all based in Hong Kong, plus the Vector Group in Russia.
“Postovoy repeatedly concealed and misstated the true end users and end destinations of the microelectronics by submitting false information on documents,” the release noted. “He transshipped items that were ultimately destined for Russia through intermediary destinations, including Hong Kong, Switzerland, and elsewhere, and received payments in U.S. dollars from foreign bank accounts,” the release added. “His companies transferred funds for the purchase and shipment of the goods through bank accounts in Hong Kong, Russia, and elsewhere to bank accounts in the United States, including bank accounts maintained by the U.S. suppliers of microelectronics and other sensitive technologies,” the release said.
The arrest was “coordinated through the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation-states,” the release explained.
The Moscow Times reported this week that Postovoy’s arrest “follows the sentencing of another Russian businessman in July, who received three years in U.S. prison after admitting to smuggling military-grade electronics to Russia from Hong Kong.”
In that case, The Moscow Times said, “Maxim Marchenko, who lived and operated several companies in Hong Kong, was arrested in September and pleaded guilty to smuggling and money laundering in a New York court in March.
“The U.S. accused Marchenko and two unidentified co-conspirators of using shell companies to buy and send dual-use OLED micro-displays to Russia in violation of sanctions imposed after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” that Moscow Times report added.
As Wikipedia explains, “An organic light-emitting diode (OLED), also known as organic electroluminescent(organic EL) diode, is a type of light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissiveelectroluminescent layer is an organic compound film that emits light in response to an electric current. … OLEDs are used to create digital displays in devices such as television screens, computer monitors, and portable systems such as smartphones and handheld game consoles,” Wikipedia adds.
“ ‘The technology that Marchenko and his co-conspirators fraudulently procured have significant military applications, such as rifle scopes, night vision goggles, thermal optics and other weapon systems,’ the Justice Department said in a statement,” as The Moscow Times reported.
Home ownership in Sarasota and court records
A Sarasota County News Leader search of Sarasota County records found that, on Aug. 23, 2023, Postovoy bought the Rivo Lakes home standing at 6185 Lungo Lago Drive in Sarasota. He paid $1,123,600 for the residence, the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office records show. Then, on Sept. 29, 2023, he transferred it to St. Mark Housing Trust for $100. The address given for the trust is the same one that Postovoy was using in late January 2023, when he was charged with a red-light camera violation at the intersection of Tuttle Avenue and Bahia Vista Street in Sarasota, the Sarasota County Clerk of Court records show. That address was 5517 Cartagena Drive in Sarasota.
In a search of Florida Division of Corporations records, the News Leader also found that Postovoy included that address in articles of incorporation for the SRQ Boat Club LLC. That company was created in September 2022, with Postovoy named as the manager. The registered agent was Dmitriy Subbotovskiy of Riverwood Avenue in Sarasota, the form shows.
Articles of Dissolution for SRQ Boat Club LLC were filed with the state on Sept. 2 of this year, another document shows. The reason given on the form was “Going Out of Business.”
Postovoy also is named as the CEO of Chlo & Rella Corp., Florida Division of Corporations records say. That company, too, listed the Cartagena Drive address.
Chlo & Rella’s articles of incorporation were filed on Jan. 11, 2022. Then, on Feb. 6, 2023, the company submitted an application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the News Leader found. The trademark, the form said, was “intended to cover the category of soft drinks.”
An annual report for Chlo & Rella was submitted to the Division of Corporations on Feb. 28 of this year.
In January 2022, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records also show, Postovoy applied for a trademark “intended to cover the category of metal taps for beer kegs.” On it, Postovoy listed an address in Hong Kong.
A News Leader search of the Pinellas County Clerk of Court records found that a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Deputy stopped Postovoy on Oct. 28, 2022 at the intersection of Gulf Boulevard and 46th Avenue — near St. Pete Beach, as shown on a map — and charged him with driving without a license. His license had been suspended in February 2022, the citation noted.
Postovoy was driving a Tesla, the citation said.
Then, in November 2022, Postovoy was cited by a Sarasota Police Department officer for driving without a license, the Sarasota County Clerk of Court’s records note.