Israeli businessman pleads guilty in US court to exporting aircraft parts to Russia

An Israeli businessman pleaded guilty in a US court on Monday to charges of illegally exporting American aircraft parts and avionics to Russia, violating export restrictions put in place after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

According to the US Justice Department on Tuesday, Gal Haimovich, 49, misled US companies about the final destination of goods, some of which had missile technology applications, and supplied them to intermediaries before reaching Russian clients.

Between March 2022 and May 2023, he arranged over 160 shipments through companies in the Maldives and the UAE, ultimately bound for Russia. Court documents reveal that Haimovich owned Control Towers Tel Aviv, an international freight forwarding company connected to a network of businesses operating in various countries, including the United States and Israel. Official papers also noted that Haimovich not only falsified US export paperwork, but also used a fake name in the transactions, “Yaron Zehavi”.

Moreover, Haimovich concealed from suppliers that his client was Siberia Airlines, which paid him approximately $2 million. He has now agreed to forfeit the funds and various aircraft parts.

The case is being handled by the US Justice Department’s KleptoCapture task force, created to enforce sanctions and export restrictions against Russia following the Ukraine invasion. The task force was established by US Attorney General Merrick Garland in March 2022, just weeks after the war began.

Haimovich’s sentencing is scheduled for 22 November. Assistant US Attorney Christopher Browne for the Southern District of Florida, who is prosecuting the case, said that, “This case demonstrates our commitment to enforcing export control laws and preventing the illegal flow of sensitive technologies to Russia.”

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