Two Florida steel traders sentenced for Russia sanctions violations

John Can Unsalan, president of Orlando, Florida-based steel trading firm Metalhouse LLC, was sentenced to six years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering to promote violations of U.S. sanctions against Sergey Kurchenko, a pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch. UnsalanÂ's former business associate, Sergey Karpushkin, a Belarusian national residing in Miami, was sentenced to 21 months in prison for his role in the scheme, said the U.S. Justice Department on Friday. Unsalan pleaded guilty and was ordered to forfeit USD 160 million in proceeds from the offense. Karpushkin pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and to commit international promotional money laundering and was ordered to forfeit USD 4.7 million in criminal proceeds, it added. Source: Kuwait News Agency