The local customs service said Friday it had seized the documents in May, which could have been used to produce weapons of mass destruction, and opened an investigation into an attempt to smuggle them abroad. The service gave no further details at the time.
Kommersant quoted a source in the Federal Customs Service as saying the Makeyev missile center had an export license, but had failed to declare the documents "containing information on missile test data reading methods."
"The investigation was only recently launched, and no charges have been filed," a customs official told the paper, adding that it was the first case of a customs probe against a state-run enterprise in the defense sector.
The service earlier said the charges envisioned up to seven years in prison and fines for any parties found guilty.
The center, which designs ballistic missiles for submarines, boosters, launch vehicles, and small spacecraft, confirmed on its Web site that it cooperated with the Brazilian government in its satellite launch program, but said the customs incident must be a misunderstanding, Kommersant reported.
"We will settle the issue," said Pyotr Boltayev, an aide to the chief designer at the center.
