A Russian man pleaded guilty on Thursday to illegally exporting electronics to Russia for possible military use, in violation of sanctions imposed after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the US Department of Justice said.

Maxim Marchenko, who lived in Hong Kong, operated a network with two other unidentified Russians that fraudulently bought large quantities of military-grade microelectronics from American distributors on behalf of Russia-based end users, according to the DOJ.

Arrested in September 2023, the 51-year-old pleaded guilty to smuggling and money laundering in a New York court on Thursday.

"Marchenko concealed his scheme to funnel these microelectronics – which had application for use in rifle scopes, night-vision goggles, thermal optics and other weapons systems – by using shell companies and other elaborate money laundering techniques," said US Attorney Damian Williams in a DOJ statement

Marchenko will be sentenced on 29 May.

Money laundering carries a maximum jail sentence of 20 years while smuggling attracts up to 10 years in prison, the department said.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division said the DOJ was "holding accountable those who would enable the Kremlin and its unjust war of aggression against Ukraine." 

Marchenko's shell companies moved more than $1.6 million to the US between May 2022 and August 2023 to buy the equipment, according to the DOJ.