美国起诉五名俄罗斯商人和三名叙利亚商人

Five Russian and three Syrian businessmen were indicted in federal court in Washington Tuesday for alleged money laundering and using a Crimean-based shipping company to send jet fuel to Syria.

Along with the charges, the eight also face large fines.

"The U.S. sanctions on Syria and Crimea thwart Syria's support of terrorism and its pursuit and use of weapons of mass destruction as well as the actions of those who seek to undermine Ukraine's democratic processes and territorial integrity," Assistant Attorney General John Demers said.

The eight are accused of setting up front companies and using phony documents and shipping records to circumvent sanctions against U.S. dollar wires to Syria or any transactions with Syria involving U.S. dollars.

The suspects allegedly used tankers owned by a Russian-based company to illegally ship jet fuel and other materials to Syria.

The defendants have not yet entered a plea, but they face as much as 25 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

5名俄罗斯商人和3名叙利亚商人星期二在华盛顿联邦法庭被起诉，罪名是洗钱和利用在克里米亚的船运公司向叙利亚运送喷气机燃料。

这8人除被起诉外还面临高额罚款。

美国助理司法部长德默斯（John Demers）说：“美国对叙利亚和克里米亚的制裁是为了阻断叙利亚支持恐怖主义和谋求和使用大规模杀伤性武器，同时制裁那些谋求破坏乌克兰民主进程和领土完整的人。”

这8人被指控设立门面公司，使用假造的文件和船运记录绕过美国的制裁。美国禁止把美元电汇到叙利亚或与叙利亚进行任何使用美元的交易。

这些嫌疑人据称使用俄罗斯公司拥有的油轮非法把喷气机燃料和其它物品运到叙利亚。

这些被告尚未表示是否认罪，但是如果所有罪名成立的话，他们将面临长达25年的监禁。