Former Kansas avionics company owner Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for conspiring to sell controlled aviation technology to customers in Russia without required US export licences. The case centres on KanRus Trading Company, a Lawrence-based business that handled export-controlled avionics equipment for Russian end users through a network that concealed the true destinations.
Buyanovsky, who led KanRus Trading Company, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering. Prosecutors said he and former vice president Douglas Edward Robertson continued to buy, sell and export sophisticated avionics parts despite Commerce Department licensing requirements, using falsified invoices and shipment routing through third countries to disguise the transactions.
The equipment included avionics components used on Russian-built aircraft, such as TCAS processors, transponders, navigation receivers and antennas. The conduct began by at least October 2020 and continued after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when US export controls were tightened further.
Robertson previously received a 32-month prison sentence, while another defendant, Oleg Chistyakov, was sentenced to 28 months. The case adds to US enforcement actions targeting aviation technology flows to Russia and the aftermarket supply chain supporting internationally operated aircraft.