A federal jury in Boston found Kirill Gordei, a 37-year-old citizen of Belarus and the United States residing in Hallandale, Florida, guilty of illegally exporting a mass spectrometer to Russia without the required license, in violation of the export controls imposed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The verdict, delivered after four days of trial, found him guilty on three counts: conspiracy to commit crimes against the United States, smuggling goods, and illegal export of a controlled item.
Gordei is the president of Apelsin Logistics, a freight transportation company based in Hallandale Beach that also operates with an address in Russia and two registered websites hosted on Russian territory.
The smuggled equipment was a Orbitrap Exploris GC 240 mass spectrometer, valued at over 600,000 dollars, used in academic, industrial, and scientific research laboratories, and included in the Commerce Control List of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
In the nuclear industry, the spectrometer is primarily used to determine with high precision the isotopic composition of key elements such as uranium and plutonium, as well as to monitor the purity of materials and detect traces of radioactive contamination.
In August 2023, Gordei coordinated the shipment of the device from the United States to Russia, using Turkey as a transit point to evade customs controls.
To cover up the operation, he provided falsified documentation to a U.S. transportation company indicating that the final destination was Uzbekistan, when in fact the equipment was sent directly to Moscow once it reached Turkish soil.
The federal prosecutor Leah B. Foley was firm in her assessment of the verdict: “Mr. Gordei made significant efforts to evade U.S. export controls by falsifying the destination of controlled technology and routing it through Turkey before sending it to Russia. Export controls are a vital tool for protecting national and international security. We will continue to hold accountable those who deliberately circumvent them.”
For his part, David Peters, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at the Department of Commerce, stated that the Bureau of Industry and Security "will relentlessly pursue those who violate export control laws" and that the conviction demonstrates "the commitment to dismantle these dangerous criminal networks."
Gordei was arrested and formally charged in June 2024. Federal Judge Myong J. Joun set the sentencing date for January 12, 2027.
The maximum penalties he faces are 20 years in prison for violating the Export Control Reform Act, 10 years for smuggling, and five years for conspiracy, in addition to fines that could reach up to one million dollars.
The case fits into a growing pattern of attempts to evade sanctions channeled through south Florida. In August 2026, Alexander Mamonov, a Russian citizen residing in Florida, was found guilty of illegally exporting nearly a million dollars in aviation parts to Russia and Aeroflot, also using false destinations.
Export controls to Russia became stricter starting April 8, 2022, weeks after the invasion of Ukraine, when Washington expanded licensing requirements to include the most sensitive items on the Commerce Control List, aiming to limit Russia's access to technologies that could support its war efforts.
The sentence for Gordei, scheduled for January 2027, will be determined by Judge Joun in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines and applicable statutes.
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