A 12-count indictment has been unsealed in Brooklyn federal court against Natalya Ivanovna Mazulina, also known as "Natasha Mazulina," for allegedly bypassing U.S. export laws and sanctions on Russia. Mazulina, the Western regional manager of a freight forwarding company based in Jamaica, New York, was arrested in Seattle and will be arraigned later in the Eastern District of New York.
The charges were announced by Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Security Division; James E. Dennehy from the FBI's New York Field Office; and James Guanci from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Export Enforcement.
"As alleged, Mazulina used her position as a manager of a freight forwarding company to facilitate unlawful exports to Russia through JFK airport," stated United States Attorney Peace. "Evading U.S export regulations presents a danger to our national security."
Assistant Attorney General Olsen noted that "the defendant exploited her knowledge of the export business to falsify documents and circumvent U.S. sanctions by illegally shipping oil and gas products to Russian customers." He emphasized that such actions would not be tolerated when they jeopardize national security.
DOC Special Agent in Charge Guanci added that collaborating with foreign actors to evade U.S. export controls is a serious violation and investigations into such activities will continue aggressively.
The indictment alleges that between December 2022 and December 2024, Mazulina conspired with Russian companies to ship controlled items like industrial oil and gas equipment from the U.S. to Russia through intermediary countries. She reportedly told colleagues about using third-party bank accounts due to sanctions on most clients.
Mazulina faces multiple charges including conspiracy to export controlled goods without a license, defrauding the U.S., money laundering conspiracy, exporting without a license, filing false documents with the government, and smuggling goods contrary to law. Convictions could result in up to 20 years imprisonment per count related to exporting or money laundering conspiracies.
These charges are allegations at this stage; Mazulina is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The case is managed by several attorneys from different sections within the Justice Department alongside support from Task Force KleptoCapture—a task force dedicated since March 2022 under Deputy Attorney General leadership—to enforcing sanctions following Russia's military invasion of Ukraine.