HOUSTON, October 10 - RAPSI. After the two-day hearings of the illegal high-tech electronics export case in the Houston federal court, the suspects holding Russian passports will remain in custody, while those with only U.S. passports have been placed under house arrest.
Federal prosecutors in New York reported earlier that eleven members of an alleged secret Russian military procurement network were charged in the United States with illegally shipping sophisticated microelectronics to Russia's military and intelligence agencies.
The FBI arrested the alleged ringleader, 46-year-old Alexander Fishenko, and seven others between October 3-4. They also executed search warrants at seven residences and business locations and seized assets from five bank accounts. The Department of Justice has stated that it believes three other suspects remain at-large and have already returned to Russia.
The charges read that Fishenko ran an elaborate scheme as of 2008 that tricked customs agents into believing that his company - the Houston-based Arc Electronics, Inc. - manufactured and shipped routine products to Russia. Instead, the suspects provided Russia with "controlled, sensitive technologies" that can be used for radar and surveillance systems, weapons guidance systems, and detonation triggers.
On Tuesday, Judge John Hanks extended Anastasia Dyatlova's detention, stating that her ties and assets in the United States are insufficient to guarantee her stay. His decision was also influenced by the fact that she holds a Russian passport and that her parents live in Nizhny Tagil, Russia. Alexander Posobilov's motion was turned down for similar reasons on Friday.
Two other detainees, Azerbaijan-born Lyudmila Bagdikyan and Ukraine-born Svetalina Zagon were released on bail on Tuesday. Bagdikyan and Zagon have pledged to attend all the hearings in Brooklyn, New York. The first hearing has been scheduled for October 17.
Consul General in Houston Alexander Zakharov has expressed his disappointment with the ruling.
Dyatlova's defense lawyer Alexei Tarasov will challenge the court's decision.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry's statement on Friday, the United States has provided it with the indictment for the suspected Russians. "The Americans do not recognize double citizenship and consider all the detainees as U.S. citizens only. Nevertheless, we have managed to secure consulate access to the four detainees [with Russian citizenship]," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told journalists.
He added that there is still a great deal of uncertainty in the case.