NORTH ATTLEBORO - A town resident and a Russian have been indicted for allegedly helping Russia acquire cutting-edge, American-made laser welding machines that could be used to support that country’s nuclear weapons program, the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston said Monday.
Our partners at The Sun Chronicle reported Sam Bhambhani, 55, of 156 Paine Road in North Attleboro and Maxim Teslenko, 35, of Moscow, were each indicted on one count of smuggling and one count of conspiracy to violate and evade export controls, commit smuggling, and defrauding the United States, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
It is alleged that from around 2015 through at least 2021, Bhambhani and Teslenko conspired to export laser welding machines from Bhambani’s employer in the United States to the Ural Electromechanical Plant in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
They allegedly falsified the export documentation submitted to the U.S. government in order to conceal the fact the UEMZ was the true end user of the machines.
The company where Bahmbani worked has facilities in Rhode Island and Florida.
It was not identified in the indictment or by authorities.
Ultimately, seven laser machines were sent to Russia, according to the indictment.
