The U.S. attorney’s office in Concord has charged Intertech Trading Corp., a firm in Atkinson, with 14 felony charges of failure to file export information in regards to equipment it shipped to Russia and Ukraine.
The parts, including laser assemblies, were falsely identified for use in such products as an aquarium, a welding system and multimedia at reported values much lower than they actually were, prosecutors said.
The charges, filed June 6 by the U.S. attorney in federal district court in Concord, concern exports from 2016 to 2019, before Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine began in February of this year. But tensions between the two countries date back to 2005, and in 2014 pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Donbas region declared independence, percolating fighting that has resulted in the death of 15,000 people, according to the Ukrainian government. It is where nearly all of the current fighting is taking place today.
The charges apparently stem from an investigation of the company, based on a search warrant first reported by The Daily Beast and then New Hampshire Bulletin, alleging that equipment was being used for Russia’s weapons of mass destructions and other federal violations related to threats to the U.S. national security.
The search warrant alleged some 414 shipments valued at $60 million were sent to Intertech Instruments in Moscow, with four shipments totaling $40 million sent to the FSB, the successor to KBG. The warrant included recorded phone conversations where executives allegedly discussed a plan to revise records to avoid penalties.
The charges filed in New Hampshire involve only 14 shipments. The government claims that the equipment was worth $77,188, but it was reported of having a value of $1,418. There are no accusations that the equipment was being used for military purposes, just that it was misidentified and undervalued.
The equipment includes dual periscope windows, an X700 Laser Assembly and IS50 Laser Assembly, all for aquariums, though another X700 Laser Assembly was supposedly to be used as spare parts for multimedia systems. — BOB SANDERS
