Kristina Puzyryova played a key role in a complex money laundering scheme that sent hundreds of shipments totaling more than $7 million to Russia for use against Ukraine, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

He wasn’t alone

“She lived half her life in Canada,” 32-year-old Kristina Puzyryova wrote on her Instagram account. “But this did not prevent her from being an accomplice of Russian crimes in Ukraine.

You would never guess it from her Instagram profile, where the 32-year-old is living every millennial woman’s dream, traveling the world with her husband and partner in crime, Mykola Goltsev.
– He writes the publication DroneDJ, which covers topics related to drones.

In fact, the pair were operating a complex global procurement scheme, using New York-registered entities, to illegally source and purchase millions of dollars worth of dual-use electronics on behalf of end users in Russia, including companies linked to the Russian military.

Prosecutors said Puzyryova and Goltsev repeatedly left Canada to meet with their accomplice Salimjon Nasriddinov in New York. During these trips, the woman deposited cash using multiple bank accounts, which were then transferred to her accounts in Canada.

The government seized $20,000 in cash from the New York hotel room where Puzyryova was arrested. In total, the government seized approximately $1.68 million in connection with the scheme.

Puzyryova laundered money on behalf of several Brooklyn shell companies to ship American-origin electronics to sanctioned entities in Russia.
– says Matthew Axelrod, who deals with export control issues at the US Department of Commerce.

Court documents mention several messages Goltsev sent to Puzyrova in January 2023:

• He complains that another conspirator asked him to prepare 80 banknotes: “I’m calculating 3 million. My fingers are already hurting from the laptop.”, He wrote. Puzyryova replied: “A lot of money? We will be rich”.
• Later that week, Goltsev wrote another message about another woman involved in the crime: “Dasha paid. 700 thousand”. Immediately afterwards, financial records show wire transfers totaling $700,000 from a Hong Kong-based company to Puzyryova’s account as part of an order to a sanctioned Russian company.

[Пузирьова] He was a key player in a scheme aimed at circumventing export controls and sanctions and supplying UAV components and missiles to Russia, which were later found on the battlefield in Ukraine. The export plan would not have worked if he had not laundered the proceeds from this scheme.
– says US Attorney General Breon Peir.

Goltsev and Nasriddinov are still awaiting trial. Puzyrova’s sentencing date has not yet been determined, but faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.