The FBI and U.S. federal prosecutors are investigating an American company for allegedly bypassing sanctions to supply lab equipment for Russia's weapons of mass destruction programs, The Daily Beast reported Tuesday, citing newly unsealed documents it said it obtained.
According to the federal court documents, Intertech Corporation allegedly “intentionally falsified shipping documents, avoided and circumvented export compliance regulations, and obfuscated end-users” to send scientific instruments to recipients in Russia. These recipients included Russia’s domestic intelligence agency, the FSB, The Daily Beast reported, citing a search warrant application.
The New Hampshire-based firm is allegedly linked to Intertech Instruments, a Russian company that was sanctioned by the Biden administration in March for allegedly helping supply Russia’s weapons of mass destruction programs, The Daily Beast reported.
The U.S. Commerce Department included Intertech Instruments in its sanctions list of 14 Russian organizations that Washington says engaged in the “the production of biological and chemical weapons.” The sanctions came in response to the poisoning and subsequent jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
Navalny was jailed this winter on what his supporters called politically motivated charges upon returning to Russia after recovering from a nerve agent poisoning he claims was orchestrated by the president. The Kremlin denies those claims.
The Daily Beast reported that while it's unclear what specific goods federal agents believe Intertech shipped to Russia, previous export restrictions placed on an alleged Russian subsidiary could point to Russia’s chemical and biological weapons programs.
