WASHINGTON – A Belorussian citizen has been extradited from France to the United States on charges related to an alleged conspiracy to illegally export aircraft equipment to Russia, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Yana Leonova, 33, also known as “Yana Liavonava,” most recently residing in Russia, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia following her extradition. She is charged with conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act, smuggling, money laundering, and defrauding the United States.
Prosecutors allege that after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in May 2022, Leonova worked with co-conspirators in the United States to procure avionics and other aircraft components for private aircraft operated by her former employer—a company listed on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List. Using front companies based in Armenia, the Maldives, and other countries, the items were shipped to Russia without required export licenses.
“This defendant tried to circumvent U.S. law to enrich herself by procuring and illicitly exporting avionics and other prohibited equipment,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. “She used intermediary countries in an effort to block the identity of the final recipient in Russia.”
FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky stated that Leonova allegedly conspired to evade U.S. export laws by selling sensitive aircraft technology to Russia, emphasizing that the FBI and its partners “will find you, no matter where you are, and bring you to justice.”
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Kansas City Field Office and the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Office of Export Enforcement in Atlanta and New York, with assistance from French authorities and the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.
