Press Release

Avionics company owner sentenced to prison for thwarting U.S. Customs laws

Thursday, September 17, 2026

KANSAS CITY, KANSAS – A Kansas businessman was sentenced to 18 months in prison for violating United States customs laws by selling advanced aviation technology to Russian end users. 

According to court documents, Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, 63, of Lawrence, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering. 
Buyanovsky is the former president and owner of KanRus Trading Company, a Kansas-based avionics enterprise. As part of his plea agreement, Buyanovsky consented to the forfeiture of over $450,000 worth of avionics equipment and accessories and a $50,000 personal forfeiture judgment.

After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. government tightened export controls concerning Russia. Buyanovsky and KanRus vice president Douglas Edward Robertson, 59, of Olathe conspired to continue to purchase, sell, and export sophisticated and controlled avionics equipment to customers in Russia without the required licenses from the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

Robertson pleaded guilty to export control and money laundering violations and was sentenced to 32 months in prison. 

“Congress put trade restrictions in place to discourage Russia’s continued aggression in Ukraine. The defendants ignored those laws and saw the war not as a humanitarian crisis, but as a business opportunity to boost their profits,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser.

“The sentencing of Mr. Buyanovsky marks the final chapter of an investigation that exposed a deliberate conspiracy to circumvent U.S. export-control laws and facilitate the unlawful transfer of advanced aviation technology to Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. This case underscores the FBI’s steadfast commitment to protecting the integrity of our nation’s export-control system and holding accountable those who seek to undermine it.  Our message is clear:  The FBI will continue to work closely with our law enforcement and government partners to identify, investigate, and disrupt any efforts to exploit our laws,” said Chris Ormerod, FBI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge. 

A third defendant, Oleg Chistyakov, a/k/a Olegs Čitsjakovs, 57, of the Republic of Latvia, acted as a broker for KanRus. He was sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to his part in the conspiracy. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement investigated the case. The Latvian authorities assisted in the investigation while U.S. Customs and Border Protection provided substantial assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Rask and Ryan Huschka for the District of Kansas as well as Adam Barry, a former trial attorney of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.

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DHS Highlights Victims of Illegal Alien Crime in Sanctuary New York

 News Release

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Office of Public Affairs

DHS Highlights Victims of Illegal Alien Crime in Sanctuary New York Americans have been murdered, shot, stabbed, and raped by illegal aliens allowed to roam free by Kathy Hochul’s sanctuary New York WASHINGTON – The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement acknowledging the victims of illegal alien crime as a result of the reckless sanctuary policies of Governor Kathy Hochul’s New York. “Governor Hochul’s sanctuary policies have been a disaster for New York and the rest of the country,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “On her watch, illegal aliens have been allowed to roam the streets freely, and have even been released from custody despite ICE detainers. As a result, innocent Americans have been murdered, shot, stabbed, and raped by these illegal aliens in New York and other states. DHS condemns these reckless and evil sanctuary policies and demands that Governor Hochul and her fellow sanctuary politicians put a stop to this before any more innocent lives are lost.” Among the victims of New York’s sanctuary policies are: Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was studying at Augusta University in Georgia. While she was out jogging, she was sexually assaulted and then murdered by Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal alien from Venezuela and Tren de Aragua gang member, in February 2024. Ibarra had previously been arrested by the New York Police Department (NYPD) in August 2023 for recklessly driving a motorcycle with a 2-year-old child who was not wearing a helmet. He was released due to New York’s sanctuary policies, and Ibarra went on to murder Laken six months later. On March 8, 2026, 83-year-old Richard Williams – a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, a grandfather, and a cancer survivor – was violently shoved onto New York City subway tracks, along with another bystander, by Bairon Posada-Hernandez, an illegal alien from Honduras who had previously been deported FOUR TIMES. Williams died of his injuries nine days later. ICE lodged a detainer for Posada-Hernandez after his arrest. On October 2, an off-duty NYPD detective was stabbed by two illegal aliens in an attempted robbery in the Bronx. The suspects, Dangelo Rafael Jean Caraballo and Sneider Mejia Bautista, are both illegal aliens from the Dominican Republic who had previously been arrested by the NYPD, but were released before ICE could lodge detainers against them. On July 19, 2025, an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer was shot by two illegal aliens from the Dominican Republic. Both suspects, Cristian Aybar Berroa and Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, had been repeatedly arrested by the NYPD but had been released prior to the shooting. On June 6, 2026, a 16-year-old girl was walking home in Huntington, New York, when she was sexually assaulted by Aureliano Antonio Melendez Reyes, an illegal alien from El Salvador. She managed to break free and called 911 as she ran from him, even while he was still pursuing her. Police arrived on the scene and took him into custody. ICE lodged a detainer for Reyes after his arrest. On March 6, 2026, a pedestrian in Indianapolis, Indiana was struck by a semi-truck and hospitalized in critical condition. ICE arrested the driver, Sukhdev Singh, an illegal alien from India, who had been issued a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) by Hochul’s New York.

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