A South Florida-based Russian citizen has been convicted of secretly sending close to $1 million in U.S.-made aircraft components to Russia, including to state-controlled carrier Aeroflot, despite American export restrictions. Federal prosecutors said Alexander Mamonov repeatedly misled U.S. suppliers about the true destination of the parts. On Thursday, a jury rejected his defense and found him guilty on all 12 charges.
Mamonov, 62, who previously worked for Aeroflot, was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act, unlawful exports, smuggling, filing false export information, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The case unfolded against the backdrop of Washington’s sweeping export controls on Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. Commerce Department also placed Aeroflot under a temporary denial order, blocking the airline from receiving American-origin goods. Those measures were intended to prevent Russia from obtaining U.S. technology and parts that could help keep its military and commercial aircraft operational. Because Aeroflot is majority-owned by the Russian government, U.S. officials viewed the airline as closely tied to Kremlin interests, making efforts to supply it a direct challenge to American sanctions and export-control policy.
According to prosecutors, Mamonov worked with Russian national Ignat Vakorin to disguise where the aircraft parts were really headed. Suppliers in the United States were allegedly told the items would be shipped to destinations such as the United Arab Emirates and China, when prosecutors said the parts were ultimately bound for Russia and Aeroflot.
Vakorin, who was charged alongside Mamonov in April 2025, has not been arrested and remains a fugitive. Authorities believe he is currently in Russia, outside the immediate grasp of U.S. law enforcement, though prosecutors have made clear the search for him is continuing.
After the verdict, U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones of the Southern District of Florida framed the conviction as a warning to anyone trying to bypass sanctions through American shipping channels:
“Russia cannot evade American sanctions and export controls by routing its purchases through South Florida. You cannot put a fake destination on a shipping label and make American export laws disappear.”
Federal prosecutors said the scheme also involved financial transactions designed to conceal the movement of goods while Mamonov and Vakorin obtained and exported more than $900,000 worth of aircraft parts. The case mirrors other recent export-control prosecutions in Florida: in 2024, two other Russian nationals admitted to a similar plot involving false shipping destinations and illegal deliveries to Russia.
The FBI’s Miami Field Office investigated the Mamonov case with assistance from the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Paul Cronin and Trial Attorney Brett Ruff are prosecuting Mamonov’s case.
Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, said the verdict should serve as a warning.
“The FBI and its partners will continue to prioritize the enforcement of export laws and sanctions to defend the homeland. Let this verdict serve as a warning to anyone considering smuggling U.S. technology to our adversaries.”
Mamonov is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 20 by U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams. Violations of the Export Control Reform Act can carry up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million per count.
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