Russian High-Tech Export Scandal Produces 8 Arrests in Houston

Posted by timothy on Thursday October 4, 2012 @12:45AM from the it-isn't-the-bars-it's-the-humidity dept.

Penurious Penguin writes "Millionaire Alexander Fishenko, owner of US-based Arc Electronics Inc, and seven others have been arrested in Houston Texas, with a total of 11 indicted in a conspiracy to smuggle advanced microelectronics from the U.S. to Russia. The technology allegedly involves components of radar, weapons guidance, and detonators. Amongst the evidence are accounting records indicating notable similarity between the revenue of Arc Electronics and the Russian Federation's defense spending; intercepted phone calls and emails; and a letter to Arc Electronics from a Russian domestic intelligence lab complaining of defective microchips . A Russian foreign ministry spokesman has denied there were any intelligence connections in the affair."

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re: conspiracy to smuggle advanced microelectronic by dgharmon · 2012-10-04 01:13 · Score: 4, Interesting

Is it any news that the Russians 'borrow` a lot of their tech from the west. I understand you could get such 'advanced microelectronics` in a games console. Wasn't it the case, some time ago, that a middle-eastern country was going round buying up games consoles for the chips?

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