5 Russians, 2 Americans charged for helping Moscow evade sanctions

Five Russians and two Americans were charged Tuesday with evading sanctions and money laundering on behalf of the Russian government in a 16-count indictment unsealed in a federal court in New York City.

The defendants were accused of obtaining advanced electronics and sophisticated testing equipment from US companies for Russia's defense sector, according to the indictment.

"The Department of Justice and our international partners will not tolerate criminal schemes to bolster the Russian military's war efforts," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. "With three of the defendants now in custody, we have disrupted the procurement network allegedly used by the defendants and Russian intelligence services to smuggle sniper rifle ammunition and sensitive electronic components into Russia."

The defendants -- Yevgeniy Grinin, Aleksey Ippolitov, Boris Livshits, Svetlana Skvortsova, Vadim Konoshchenok, Alexey Brayman and Vadim Yermolenko -- were allegedly affiliated with Serniya Engineering and Sertal LLC, Moscow-based companies that operate under the direction of Russian intelligence services, said the statement.