Extradited Bulgarian National Appears in U.S. Federal Court on Export Violation Charges
Bulgarian national Milan Dimitrov, 50, appeared in a federal court in San Antonio today following his extradition from Greece. The charges against Dimitrov relate to a scheme involving the illegal export of sensitive electronic components to Russia.
According to court documents, Dimitrov allegedly conspired with Ilias Sabirov, 52, of Russia, and Dimitar Dimitrov, 74, of Bulgaria, to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA). The trio is accused of procuring radiation-hardened integrated circuits from the United States and exporting them to Russia through Bulgaria without the necessary U.S. government licenses.
The indictment states that from at least May 2014 to May 2018, the defendants used the Bulgarian company Multi Technology Integration Group EEOD (MTIG) to receive and transship these export-controlled items to Russia. Sabirov, identified as the head of Russian companies Cosmos Complect and OOO Sovtest Comp., reportedly controlled MTIG. Both Dimitar and Milan Dimitrov were employed by Sabirov at Cosmos Complect and MTIG.
In 2014, the defendants allegedly met with a supplier of the radiation-hardened circuits in Austin, Texas, where they were informed that such components could not be shipped to Russia due to U.S. trade restrictions. Sabirov subsequently established MTIG in Bulgaria to purchase the controlled circuits, which did not require a license for export to Bulgaria. These circuits, resistant to harsh outer-space environments, were then shipped to Bulgaria in 2015 and later transshipped to Sabirov’s companies in Russia. OOO Sovtest Comp. reportedly transferred over $1 million to MTIG for the parts.
During the same period, MTIG, under Sabirov’s direction, ordered over $1.7 million in other electronic components from a U.S.-based manufacturer to fulfill part of its contract with OOO Sovtest Comp. These parts were similarly shipped from the United States to Bulgaria before being repackaged and sent to Russia.
In late 2018, a Department of Commerce Export Control Officer interviewed Milan Dimitrov at MTIG to verify the presence of the radiation-hardened components in Bulgaria. Dimitrov allegedly made false statements, denying that the components had been sent to Russia.
Milan Dimitrov faces two counts of IEEPA violations, one count of money laundering, and one count of making false statements to the Department of Commerce, according to the ECRA. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
Sabirov and Dimitar Dimitrov remain at large. They were charged in the same indictment in December 2020 with two counts of IEEPA violations and one count of money laundering.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division and U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas announced the charges. The Commerce Department’s Office of Export Enforcement and the FBI are investigating the case, with assistance from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael C. Galdo and G. Karthik Srinivasan for the Western District of Texas, along with Trial Attorney Christine Bonomo of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs collaborated with Greek authorities to secure Dimitrov’s extradition to the United States.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
