KanRus owner sentenced to 18 months for Russia avionics export control scheme
A Kansas avionics company owner was sentenced to 18 months in prison for conspiring to evade US export controls and supply aviation technology to Russian customers.
KANSAS CITY, September 17, 2026 — A Kansas avionics company owner was sentenced to 18 months in prison for conspiring to circumvent US export controls and supply advanced aviation technology to Russian end users.
Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, 63, of Lawrence, Kansas, the former president and owner of KanRus Trading Company, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering charges. He also agreed to forfeit more than $450,000 in avionics equipment and accessories and accept a $50,000 personal forfeiture judgment.
The Justice Department said Buyanovsky and KanRus Vice President Douglas Edward Robertson continued purchasing, selling and exporting controlled avionics equipment to Russian customers without required Commerce Department licenses after the United States tightened export restrictions following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Court records from Buyanovsky's 2023 guilty plea showed the conspiracy used false export documentation, concealed end users and destinations, routed goods through countries including Armenia, the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus, and used foreign bank accounts to receive payments from Russian customers. Buyanovsky also admitted that in 2021 the conspirators facilitated the repair and return of a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System to Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB.
Robertson was sentenced in June to 32 months in prison after pleading guilty to export-control and money laundering violations. Latvian broker Oleg Chistyakov, also known as Olegs Čitsjakovs, received a 28-month sentence for his role in the scheme. Buyanovsky's sentencing concludes the criminal cases against the three defendants identified by prosecutors.
The Commerce Department previously added several individuals and entities connected to the procurement network to its Entity List in December 2023, imposing additional license requirements as part of US efforts to disrupt Russian procurement networks circumventing export controls and sanctions.
Regulatory Actions
Structured data extracted from official sources and validated by sanctions experts