A 66-year-old man was arrested in Los Angeles on Wednesday in connection with an alleged years-long scheme to illegally export sensitive technology from the United States to a company linked to the Russian military, according to federal prosecutors.
The man, Ilya Kahn, is a citizen of the United States, Israel and Russia and has residences in Brooklyn, New York and Los Angeles, federal prosecutors said Thursday in charging documents filed in New York.
Kahn is the owner of Senesys Inc., a California-based company, and Sensor Design Assn., a New York-based company. The companies are involved in developing security software and testing silicon wafers for military aviation electronics and space equipment, according to court documents.
Federal prosecutors allege that the two companies are actually the same entity and that from 2017 to 2023 they shipped more than 290,000 microelectronics and other items outside the US.
Kahn worked with a Russian semiconductor company called Joint Stock Company Research and Development Center Elvees, which was sanctioned by the US government in February 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Elvees played a critical role in helping the Russian military, court documents say.
Between 2012 and 2022, financial records show, Kahn's business received more than $37 million from Elvees and related entities, including more than $2.1 million in 2021 and 2022, prosecutors allege.
Kahn is charged with conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act, which regulates the export of goods, technology and software that have potential military use.
Prosecutors allege that in 2019, Kahn exported U.S.-made microcontrollers to Elvees in Russia, and in 2022 he exported other equipment through a Hong Kong-based shipping company without the necessary licenses from the U.S. government. According to prosecutors, that equipment included network interface controllers and a radio frequency transmitter, whose exports are limited for national security and anti-terrorism reasons.
Prosecutors accused Kahn in court documents of a number of other acts in support of Elvees, including:
- Arrange for Elvees to continue receiving Taiwan-made semiconductors after Russia's invasion.
- Illegal shipment of items from Taiwan to the United States and then to Russia after the Taiwanese company refused to ship Elvees-designed semiconductors directly to Russia.
- Shipping thousands of microchips based on an Elvees design from a manufacturer in Taiwan via a New York-based carrier to a Hong Kong-based shipping company and then to mainland China.
“Mr. Kahn is accused of repeatedly exporting sensitive technology to Russia before, during and after Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” the deputy prosecutor said in a statement. Gen. Matthew Olsen of the National Security Division of the Department of Justice “Violation of US sanctions and export control laws that assist Russia and other hostile powers endangers the security of our nation and will be met with the full force of the Department of Justice.”
Kahn could face a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted, according to prosecutors. He was scheduled to appear in a downtown Los Angeles court on Thursday.
It was not immediately clear if Kahn had legal representation.
