Belarusian who helped Russian oligarch evade sanctions is linked to steel works

Siarhei Karpushkin / YCollage by Euroradio
Siarhei Karpushkin / YCollage by Euroradio

A Belarusian citizen arrested in the United States for helping a Russian oligarch evade sanctions is directly linked to the Belarusian Metallurgical Plant (BMP).

In the 2000s, Siarhey Karpushkin lived in Zhlobin and worked at the BMP. The company he now represents, Commodity General Trading USA, LLC (Cogentra), is BMP's official dealer in North America. As Euroradio had learned, already in November 2022 Cogentra was mentioned in the documents as a buyer of Zhlobin plant production.

And in April 2023, Karpushkin was arrested for helping Russian oligarch Sergei Kurchenko evade American sanctions for three years. Investigators believe the Belarusian and his American accomplice, John Unsalan, purchased $150 million worth of steelmaking materials for two companies linked to Kurchenko.

We thank Cyberpartisan for its help in uncovering these facts.

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