Three convicted by NY jury over Russian export conspiracy

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal jury in Brooklyn, New York on Monday convicted three former employees of a Houston-based company over their roles in a scheme to illegally export microelectronics to the Russian military, U.S. prosecutors said.

Alexander Posobilov, Shavkat Abdullaev and Anastasia Diatlova were convicted after a month-long trial of exporting and conspiring to export more than $30 million of microchips and other high-tech goods to Russia, including many destined for the military and intelligence agencies, U.S. Attorney Robert Capers said.

Posobilov was also convicted of conspiring to commit money laundering, Capers added.

All three defendants worked at Arc Electronics Inc, where Posobilov was procurement director, Abdullaev was shipping manager and Diatlova was a saleswoman.

They were among 11 individual defendants charged in October 2012 over what U.S. prosecutors called an elaborate procurement network intended to evade federal export controls, and overseen since 2008 by Alexander Fishenko, Arc's founder.

Fishenko pleaded guilty to related charges on Sept. 9, and has yet to be sentenced. Four other defendants have also entered guilty pleas.

Richard Lind, a lawyer for Abdullaev, said the jury "wrongfully convicted" his client. "We believe we have very strong grounds on appeal, and look forward to the next stage of this case," he said.

Lawyers for Posobilov and Diatlova were not immediately available for comment.

The convicted defendants each face a maximum 20 years in prison on each of the most serious charges.

The case is U.S. v. Posobilov et al, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 12-cr-00626.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Christian Plumb)