Court decides to extradite Russian businessman accused of espionage to USA - ForumDaily
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The court decided to extradite to the United States a Russian businessman accused of espionage

US authorities accuse Alexander Korshunov of conspiracy and attempted theft of trade secrets from an aircraft manufacturing company. Writes about it TASS.

Фото: Depositphotos

The Naples Court of Appeal (Italy) decided that Alexander Korshunov, business development director of the United Engine Corporation (UEC), arrested in Italy at the request of the American side, would be extradited to the United States. This was reported to reporters by Russian lawyer Dzhan Domenico Kayazstsa, noting that the defense will appeal.

“Today the court decision was made public. We have 15 days to appeal it, and we will do so,” the lawyer said.

Korshunov was arrested on August 30 at Naples Airport on the basis of an international warrant issued by the United States. The US authorities accuse him of conspiracy and an attempt to steal trade secrets from an aircraft manufacturing company.

The decision on extradition may still be appealed to a higher authority. The final decision must be approved by the Minister of Justice.

Earlier, the court of appeal granted the request to change the preventive measure from detention to house arrest with an electronic bracelet. According to Korshunov’s lawyer, only the day before he was transferred under house arrest to a rented apartment in Naples, where his wife came to him.

At the same time, the Russian authorities demand the extradition of the Russian, where he is accused of fraud and theft. Korshunov has already agreed to extradition to his homeland.

Who is Korshunov and where did he work?

Alexander Korshunov - Business Development Director, United Engine Corporation, he has held this position for about a year. He worked in UEC for almost 10 years (in 2017, he left UEC for VEB and a year later returned to the corporation).

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UEC is a structure that unites several dozen enterprises that develop and manufacture engines for civil and military equipment, gas turbine units and other products. Until 2018, the company was part of Oboronprom, now it is directly managed by Rostec. In 2017, Rostec and UEC fell under US sanctions.

The US Department of Justice said in a statement that Korshunov was an employee of a state-owned company, and before that, he was an official, including working for the Russian Foreign Ministry. Judging by the biography published on the UEC website, Korshunov worked for 13 years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

Korshunov first came to the ministry in 1990 - immediately after studying at the Diplomatic Academy of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He studied at the Moscow Energy Institute, the Higher School of Economics, as well as at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

What are Korshunov accused of?

The US Department of Justice has published written evidence from FBI Special Agent Michael Runnels, who was investigating the case. Rannels testified on August 21, 2019 - it is on them that the allegations against Korshunov are based.

According to investigators, Korshunov was allegedly engaged in industrial espionage since 2013 of the year. In addition to Korshunov and Bianchi, at least three unnamed persons appear in the case, it follows from the testimony of Rannels. These are former and current GE employees.

One of them, a US citizen, testified to the FBI and provided various documents to the US law enforcement agencies, including contracts and correspondence with Korshunov and Bianchi. He worked as an engineer at the Italian branch of GE.

The FBI has also received warrants for viewing email accounts associated with Korshunov and Bianchi. Other UEC employees also participated in the correspondence, the FBI report said.

Bianchi, 59, was the director of the Italian subsidiary of GE Aviation. He was responsible for business development with China, Russia and Asia. Around 2013, Bianchi left GE and founded his company Aeronova in Italy.

In the same period, according to the FBI, Korshunov and Bianchi hired three GE employees to suggest how to improve the PD-14 engines. In documents, this is called consulting. This is what Putin spoke of, calling it “absolutely natural world practice.”

Aeronova, according to FBI documents, concluded a contract with the Russian company Aviadvigatel (part of the UEC) for an amount of 150 thousand euros, also under this contract it was necessary to pay VAT to the Russian budget in 27 thousand euros. In fact, the contract was performed by current GE employees, the FBI says.

An FBI agent describes that Korshunov, Bianchi, and GE employees used a whole system to disguise their work. In letters they did not call each other by name, but used the word "guys", and Korshunov asked to remove the names from some letters.

Korshunov and Bianchi in 2013 also organized a meeting with the “guys” at the Le Bourget air show in France and bought them airline tickets. The meeting was held on June 20, 2013 - an FBI informant participated in it, it follows from the investigation.

GE managers and security officials confirmed to the FBI that the reports of the “guys” were based on the secret developments of the company and its Italian subsidiary, the report said. According to the report, the company believes that this is their intellectual property, and the employees were not authorized to transmit this information to Bianchi or Korshunov.

In 2015, according to FBI documents, the Chinese Engine Corporation (AECC) appeared in the correspondence, which also asked UEC to help with the development of the engine drive box - it was for the development of this part, according to the FBI, that was used by GE.

Since the end of 2017, Korshunov and Bianchi have tried to expand the team of consultants - to attract people who previously worked at GE, the FBI says.

What is PD-14 and PD-35

The indictment mentions the PD-14 and PD-35 engines.

Both engines are key elements of important aviation projects: the new Russian aircraft MS-21 and the Russian-Chinese wide-body aircraft CR-929.

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MC-21 aircraft was first presented to the public. Who and what is it made of?

PD-14 is the first Russian engine of high thrust. In 2016, Dmitry Rogozin, who was then deputy prime minister, said that money for the development of this engine comes from the presidential reserve.

The MS-21 aircraft was originally supposed to be delivered in two versions - with American Pratt and Whitney engines and with the Russian PD-14. The first aircraft released were assembled and tested with Pratt and Whitney.

The Federal Air Transport Agency in November 2018 certified PD-14. Its serial production has not yet begun. It will begin in the 2020 year, said Sergei Popov, Managing Director of UEC Perm Motors.

In April 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced a tender worth 12 billion rubles to finalize the PD-14 aircraft engine before being certified by a European agency. The tender won the UEC.

New technologies were developed to create the PD-14 engine, but the cost of preparing for its production is significantly lower than their foreign counterparts, said RIA Novosti UEC deputy general director Yuri Shmotin.

PD-35 is one of the engine options for the Russian-Chinese wide-body CR-929 aircraft. It is being developed by the Russian United Aircraft Corporation and the Chinese company Comac. The engine can be used for a promising military transport aircraft.

In the 35 year, UEC estimated the total costs of PD-2016 in 180 billion rubles. According to the UEC, PD-35 will be certified in the 2027 year, its tests will begin in the middle of the 2023 year.

What is an engine drive box

Americans suspect that the efforts of Korshunov and Bianchi were aimed at obtaining technology for manufacturing an aircraft engine drive box. What it is?

“The unit drive box is a prefabricated mechanism that is used to transfer energy from a jet engine to other aircraft energy systems,” the FBI said.

UEC approximately in 2013 just tried to evaluate the efficiency of the electronic box of drive units for the PD-14 engine, the FBI reports. And at this time, on behalf of Korshunov, Bianchi hired two GE employees to improve the efficiency of this box.

The efficiency of fuel consumption, in particular, depends on the operation of the engine drive box, and Rogozin called this one of the advantages of PD-14 heavy-duty engines.

In October 2016, Korshunov asked Bianchi if the “guys” knew how to design the unit drive box design for a larger engine. PD-35 is just larger, and later it is also referred to in the FBI investigation.

The engines of the GE90 family, the manufacturing technology of which, according to the FBI, could be of interest to Korshunov, are the largest in the history of aviation.

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