Nuclear Security & Deterrence Vol. 18 No. 43
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Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Article 9 of 16

November 07, 2014

Officials Charged in Russian Uranium Transport Kickback Scheme for ‘Megatons’ Shipments

By Todd Jacobson

Kenneth Fletcher
NS&D Monitor
11/7/2014

Federal charges of extortion and conspiracy charges were filed late last week against a Russian official working for a TENEX subsidiary and executives of the firm Transport Logistics International in relation to kickbacks for transportation contracts tied to the ‘Megatons to Megawatts’ program. TENEX contracted with TLI starting in 1996 to ship highly enriched uranium from Russian nuclear weapons to the United States for downblending to nuclear fuel by USEC, now known as Centrus Energy. But between 1996 and the program’s completion in 2013, TLI officials Daren and Carol Condrey of Closter, N.J., allegedly paid at least $1,692,995 in kickback payments to get over $33 million in noncompetitive transport contracts from TENEX, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland that cited complaints and supporting affidavits.

The kickbacks allegedly went to Vadim Mikerin, general director of TENEX subsidiary TENAM USA, based in Bethesda, Maryland, according to affidavits cited by the U.S. attorney. “The affidavits allege that the kickback payments to Mikerin were disguised as consulting fees or other fictitious expenses. The defendants also entered into sham contracts with offshore shell entities knowing that the payments to these entities were in fact being made to Mikerin,” the U.S. attorney’s release states. Mikerin began working with Boris Rubizhevsky and his company, NEXGEN Security, in November 2011 for them to serve as a middleman to accept kickback payments, according to the affidavits. The attorney charged Mikerin with extortion conspiracy and the Condreys and Rubizhevsky with wire fraud conspiracy, and all face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Though the Megatons program has ended, Centrus Energy has a contract with TENEX through 2022 to purchase largely low enriched uranium for use in nuclear fuel. TENEX did not respond to request for comment on whether it still has a contract with TLI. “We do not anticipate these charges to affect the transportation of future deliveries from Russia or our contract with TENEX,” Centrus spokesman Paul Jacobson said in a statement. He also said: “The case does not involve any Centrus contracts and Centrus is not involved in the case. As a highly regulated business, Centrus requires all procurement activities, including the procurement of transportation services, to be conducted in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations and in a manner to achieve the most competitive terms for our company and its shareholders.”

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November 03, 2014

Officials Charged in Russian Uranium Transport Kickback Scheme for ?Megatons? Shipments

By ExchangeMonitor

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland filed extortion and conspiracy charges Friday against a Russian official working for a TENEX subsidiary and executives of the firm Transport Logistics International in relation to kickbacks for Megatons to Megawatts transport contracts. TENEX contracted with TLI starting in 1996 to ship highly enriched uranium from nuclear weapons to the United States for downblending to nuclear fuel by USEC, now known as Centrus Energy. But between 1996 and the program’s completion in 2013, TLI officials Daren and Carol Condrey of Closter, N.J., allegedly paid at least $1,692,995 in kickback payments to get over $33 million in noncompetitive transport contracts from TENEX, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland that cited complaints and supporting affidavits.

The kickbacks allegedly went to Vadim Mikerin, general director of TENEX subsidiary TENAM USA, based in Bethesda, Maryland, according to affidavits cited by the U.S. attorney. “The affidavits allege that the kickback payments to Mikerin were disguised as consulting fees or other fictitious expenses. The defendants also entered into sham contracts with offshore shell entities knowing that the payments to these entities were in fact being made to Mikerin,” the U.S. attorney’s release states. Mikerin began working with Boris Rubizhevsky and his company, NEXGEN Security, in November 2011 for them to serve as a middleman to accept kickback payments, the affidavits state. The attorney charged Mikerin with extortion conspiracy and the Condreys and Rubizhevsky with wire fraud conspiracy, and all face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Though the Megatons program has ended, Centrus Energy has a contract with TENEX through 2022 to purchase largely low enriched uranium for use in nuclear fuel. “We do not anticipate these charges to affect the transportation of future deliveries from Russia or our contract with TENEX,” Centrus spokesman Paul Jacobson said in a statement. He also said: “the case does not involve any Centrus contracts and Centrus is not involved in the case. As a highly regulated business, Centrus requires all procurement activities, including the procurement of transportation services, to be conducted in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations and in a manner to achieve the most competitive terms for our company and its shareholders.”

Comments are closed.