A man from Delhi, India, has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for conspiring to illegally export aviation components from Oregon to Russia. Sanjay Kaushik, 58, was found guilty of violating the Export Control Reform Act by working with others to obtain aerospace goods and technology from the United States under false pretenses.
According to court documents, starting in September 2023, Kaushik conspired with others to acquire controlled aviation equipment and a navigation and flight control system intended for Russian end users. The items were purchased using misleading information that they would be delivered to Kaushik’s Indian company. In reality, the goods were meant for customers in Russia.
One example involved Kaushik and his co-conspirators buying an Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS), which is used for aircraft navigation and flight control, from an Oregon supplier. Such components require a license from the Department of Commerce before being exported to certain countries like Russia. To secure this license, false claims were made about the end use of the AHRS. Authorities detained the component before it could leave the United States.
Kaushik was arrested in Miami on October 17, 2024, following a criminal complaint and arrest warrant. He has remained in custody since then. A federal grand jury indicted him on November 20, 2024, on charges including conspiracy and attempting illegal exportation of products as well as making false statements related to exports.
On October 9, 2025, Kaushik pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell export-controlled aviation parts with both civilian and military uses to Russian entities.
The sentencing was announced by Scott E. Bradford, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon; Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg of the National Security Division at the U.S. Department of Justice; and Special Agent in Charge Brent Burmester from the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), San Jose Field Office.
The investigation was led by BIS Portland with help from Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Gregory R. Nyhus, Assistant U.S. Attorney for Oregon, along with Trial Attorney Emma Ellenrieder from DOJ’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.
“This was no lapse in judgment. It was a calculated, profit-driven scheme involving repeated transactions, substantial gains, and coordination with foreign co-conspirators, including sanctioned Russian entities,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Scott E. Bradford. “This defendant sought, on multiple occasions, to undermine safeguards critical to U.S. national security and foreign policy for his own personal gain.”
