A Russian was arrested in the United States for trying to circumvent sanctions; he faces up to 20 years in prison

Russian Oleg Nikitin was arrested in the United States for trying to circumvent sanctions, the American Department of Justice reports .

Nikitin is charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering and faces up to 20 years in prison.

As stated in the release, Nikitin owns the company KS Engineering . He was allegedly contacted by an unnamed Russian state-owned company, who asked to buy a Vectra 40G gas turbine in the United States for $17.3 million. It was assumed that the turbine would be used on a Russian Arctic platform.

Charges were also brought against KS Engingeering employee Anton Cheremukhin and Italians Gabriel Villone and Bruno Caparini - with the help of their company GVA International Oil and Gas Services it was planned to buy a turbine. They, in turn, turned to Daly Bagru, who owns the American company World Mining and Oil Supply . At the same time, the documents stated that the Vectra 40G was needed by an American company, and the turbine would be used in Atlanta and the surrounding area. They never managed to complete the deal.

In addition to Nikitin, Villone and Bagru were also arrested and are now awaiting trial.