The Department of Justice unsealed an indictment yesterday charging Natalya Ivanovna Mazulina, also known as "Natasha Mazulina," for her alleged involvement in a scheme to circumvent U.S. export laws and sanctions on Russia.
Mazulina, of Federal Way, Washington, was the Western regional manager of a freight forwarding company based in Jamaica, New York. The company operated out of JFK Airport in Queens, New York, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington State.
According to the DOJ, from December 2022 through December 2024, Mazulina conspired with Russian freight forwarding companies and others to unlawfully ship controlled items, including industrial oil and gas equipment from the U.S. to Russia, through intermediary countries.
At one point, in June 2023, Mazulina told colleagues that her clients were paying through bank accounts in third party countries because "[m]ost of [her] clients [were] currently sanctioned with USA."
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Mazulina attempted to conceal the unlawful scheme by submitting false export documents to the U.S. government, documents which should have revealed that the exported goods were destined for Russia.
Mazulina was arrested yesterday in Seattle and will be arraigned in New York at a later date. She is charged with conspiracy to export controlled goods to Russia without a license, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to commit money laundering, exporting controlled goods to Russia without a license, filing false export documents with the U.S. government, and smuggling goods contrary to U.S. law.
If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of conspiring to export or exporting controlled goods to Russia without a license; a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for conspiring to commit money laundering; up to 10 years in prison for each count of smuggling; and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of conspiracy and filing false export documents with the U.S. government.
"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," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the National Security Division. "American companies like the freight forwarder where Mazulina worked play a critical role in the global supply chain and movement of goods. The National Security Division will not tolerate individuals who seek to abuse their positions in these companies for financial gain at the expense of national security."
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