The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 165 entries to its so-called entity list this week, including 119 individuals and businesses in Russia, for facilitating an illegal, U.S.-based export operation in which millions of dollars worth of U.S. goods and technology were allegedly funneled to Russia's military and intelligence agencies.

The Oct. 9 Federal Register notice was issued in conjunction with a major enforcement action in which 11 individuals and two businesses were indicted in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York for operating an alleged Russian military procurement network in the U.S.

The defendants are accused of illegally exporting to Russia high-tech microelectronics that have use in radar and surveillance systems, missile guidance systems and detonation triggers, according to an Oct. 3 release from the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The 165 foreign persons and companies placed on the entity list this week include those who received, transshipped, or otherwise facilitated the export of the controlled items, most of which are not produced domestically in Russia, by the defendants listed in the case, according to DOJ.

The individuals indicted by DOJ include those directly involved in the scheme and that fell under the jurisdiction of the U.S. justice system, while those on the entity list are comprised of foreign firms and persons not directly subject to U.S. law. A license is required for the export of any commodities to persons or companies on the entity list with the presumption that an application for any such license will be denied by the Commerce Department.