A U.S. freight forwarding company manager has been indicted on multiple counts for her involvement in an operation to flout U.S. export laws and sanctions on Russia. Natalya Ivanovna Mazulina, known as "Natasha Mazulina", was charged with scheming to unlawfully ship controlled items to Russia from at least December 2022 through December 2024, according to a 12-count indictment that federal authorities in Brooklyn unveiled.
Mazulina, the Western regional manager for the freight forwarding firm based in Jamaica, New York, was arrested in Seattle, as stated in a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. The indictment alleges she collaborated with Russian entities and attempted to hide the final destination of the exports by using intermediary countries. In one instance, Mazulina acknowledged that her clients were funnelling payments through bank accounts in third party countries because "[m]ost of [her] clients [were] currently sanctioned with USA."
United States Attorney Breon Peace, helming the Eastern District of New York, underscored the gravity of circumventing export control by declaring, "Evading U.S export regulations presents a danger to our national security," and affirmed a resolve to utilize all law enforcement and national security tools to prevent such infractions. Alongside Peace, officials from the Justice Department's National Security Division to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Export Enforcement have voiced their commitment to staunchly investigate and prosecute individuals undermining national security for personal gain.
The indictment charges Mazulina with a raft of offenses that could lead up to 20 years in prison for each count of conspiring to export or exporting controlled goods without a license, among other penalties. While the charges remain allegations, and Mazulina is presumed innocent unless proven guilty, the case falls under the purview of the Justice Department's Task Force KleptoCapture—an entity focused on enforcing sanctions and combatting evasive actions against measures imposed due to Russian military aggression in Ukraine.
