The Department of Justice announced that a Hallandale Beach man with Belarusian nationality and U.S. permanent resident status is facing federal charges for exporting controlled technology from the United States to Russia without authorization.
Cargo transporter Kirill Gordei, 35, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston in April on one count of criminal conspiracy against the United States, one count of smuggling goods from the United States and one count of shipping mass spectrometers overseas in violation of the Export Control Reform Act.
Gorday was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service on Sunday and is currently being held at the Broward County Joseph V. Conte Correctional Facility in Pompano Beach, according to jail records. He is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate in Boston on July 9, according to federal court records.
According to the indictment, on or about Aug. 11, 2023, Gordai falsely claimed to be shipping an Orbitrap Exploris GC 240 mass spectrometer to Uzbekistan, when it was actually destined for Russia.
According to a summary of a report released by the Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice, spectrometers are used for a variety of purposes, including testing drugs seized in criminal cases, screening travelers’ baggage at transportation hubs and generating “reliable data for military testing sites investigating potential chemical weapons leaks.”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the U.S. government has imposed a series of “strict export controls” aimed at restricting Russia’s access to technology and other items necessary to continue its attacks on Ukraine.
Less than two months later, the government expanded licensing requirements for exports, reexports, and transfers to Russia to include the “most sensitive controlled items” on the Controlled Commerce List. Spectrometers worth more than $600,000 were on the list and required a license from the Bureau of Industry and Security, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce, to be exported to Russia.
According to an indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in Boston and unsealed a few days ago, Gorday runs a freight-forwarding company called Apelsin Logistics in Hallandale Beach that also operates two websites registered and hosted in Russia.
“As alleged, Gorday misled U.S. government export control officials and prioritized personal profit over national security to smuggle sophisticated scientific technology to customers in Russia,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.
“Cargo carriers play an outsized role in the export of goods overseas and are therefore expected to help comply with the law, not subvert it,” said Under Secretary of State for Export Administration Matthew S. Axelrod. “In this case, cargo carrier president Kirill Gordei allegedly deliberately evaded controls designed to undermine Russia’s military power by obscuring the value and ultimate destination of mass spectrometers.”
“By allegedly smuggling sensitive technology to Russia, Mr. Gordey subverted a critical framework established to protect our national security,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua S. Levy. “This case highlights the importance of enforcing export controls on sensitive items on the Controlled Commerce List, including technologies critical to scientific and industrial advancement. We will prosecute those who seek to circumvent U.S. laws for personal or commercial gain, especially when such conduct could have a potential impact on global security.”
If convicted, Gorday faces up to 35 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 on each of the three charges, according to the Department of Justice.
The Federal Public Defender’s Office in Boston is representing Gorday, according to case records. Attorneys handling the case could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
