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Avoiding an Export Violation

Export violations—don’t let one happen to you

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Going to prison or paying a large fine for an export violation seems hypothetical or imaginary until it happens to you.

The possibilities are horrifying to both individuals and businesses, but regrettably, American businesses and business people are convicted and fined, and American business people do go to jail. Their names, their company names, and their violations are matters of public knowledge and consequently the cause of a great deal of damage to both brand and personal reputation, as well as future prospects.

The heaviest fines are for willful, criminal convictions (currently up to $1 million, increasing to up to $10 million or ten times the value of the export when the new Export Administration Act is passed). Civil penalties are not as harsh, but still consequential.

In addition to fines and prison terms under criminal and civil sanctions, there are administrative sanctions (including denial of export privileges and exclusion from practice), statutory sanctions, seizure and forfeiture, cross-debarment, denial of licenses or approvals, and suspensions of the right to contract with the United States Government that can ruin a company.

The key takeaway from the examples highlighted below speaks to the importance of having a robust export, trade and financial compliance program in place.

Case materials courtesy of the United States Government Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and Department of Justice.

2019 U. S. Export Violations

Virgil Griffith

December 2019. U.S. citizen Griffith has been charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by traveling to North Korea and delivering a presentation, with technical advice, on using cryptocurrency. The talk was framed specifically as using cryptocurrency to evade economic sanctions, information which can be used by the North Korean regime to launder money and procure technology that it is otherwise illegal to provide them with. Griffith faces up to 20 years in prison.

Sunarko Kuntjoro

December 2019. Kuntjoro, a 68 year old citizen of Indonesia, has been charged with violating U.S. Export laws pertaining to sanctions against Iran. According to the charges, Juntjoro worked with three Indonesian companies to unlawfully export U.S. origin goods and technology to Iran, in violation of U.S. sanctions and embargoes on the country. If convicted, the defendant could face a sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the charge of conspiracy to violate IEEPA and defraud the U.S. government; a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each of the individual charges of violating IEEPA; a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine on the charge of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments; and a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the false statement charge.

Behzad Pourghannad

November 2019. Pourghannad plead guilty to participation in a conspiracy to export carbon fiber – a controlled good – from the United States to Iran between 2008 and 2013, in contravention of U.S. export laws and regulations. Behzad Pourghannad worked with his two co-defendants to procure carbon fiber by diverting it into Iran via third countries to obfuscate the trail and ultimate end use for these purchases. Pourghannad has been sentenced to 46 months in prison. His co-defendants have not yet been arrested or charged.

Behrooz Behroozian

October 2019. Behroozian of Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced to 20 months in prison for illegally exporting goods to Iran, in violation of U.S. export regulations. Behroozian exported oil and gas pipeline parts to Iran for over a decade, using a shell company set up in Dublin, Ohio, to facilitate these illegal exports. As a result of his illegal exports, Behroozian was profiting upwards of $35,000-$50,000 per year every year for over a decade. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the FBI eventually led to the case being brought to court.

Negar Ghodskani

August 2019. 40-year old Iranian citizen Ghodskani plead guilty to charges alleging her participation in a conspiracy to illegally export controlled technology from the U.S. to Iran. According to her plea, she falsely represented herself as an employee of Green Wave, a company established in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, as a front, to procure export-controlled technology from U.S. entities and companies, and conceal the end use and ultimate destination of these purchases. Her co-defendant, Alireza Jalali, had previously plead guilty in November 2017.

Yi-Chi Shih

July 2019. After a six-week trial, 64-year old Yi-Chi Shih was found guilty of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The IEEPA prohibits certain exports in the interests of national security. Shih, a part-time resident of Los Angeles, California, was found guilty of engaging in a scheme to illegally obtain integrated circuits that were later exported to China. The circuits in question had military applications, and were exported without the requisite licenses. Shih used a Hollywood Hills-based company he controlled to finance the manufacturing of the integrated circuits. He faces up to 219 years in prison.

Joyce Eliabachus

June 2019. Joyce Eliabachus, a 52 year old resident of Morristown, New Jersey, has plead guilty to charges alleging participation in an international smuggling ring that shipped over $2 million in aircraft parts to several Iranian airlines, including a company that has established ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This is in contravention of the sanctions and restrictions imposed upon trade with Iran. Eliabachus faces up to five years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

David Russell Levick

March 2019. Australian national David Russell Levick was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to knowingly transacting with an Iranian entity. Levick, who was the general manager of ICM Components Inc., set up intermediaries in Malaysia to obfuscate the trail for the Iranian trading company he put in orders on behalf of. Levick would also, when necessary, use a broker in Tarpon Springs, California. Following an investigation by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry Security, and the Boston Office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Levick was brought to court, and eventually charged. He now serves a 24-month prison sentence, and must also pay $199,227 in forfeiture.

2018 U. S. Export Violations

Eric Baird

December 2018. Eric Baird, the former owner and Chief Executive Officer of Florida-based package consolidation and shipping service Access USA Shipping LLC, pleaded guilty to one count of felony smuggling and admitted to 166 administrative violations of U.S. export control laws. BIS issued an Order outlining the administrative violations and imposing civil penalties of $17 million, with $7 million suspended, and a 5-year denial of export privileges, of which one year is suspended. Access USA provided foreign customers with a U.S. address that they used to acquire U.S.-origin items for export without alerting U.S. merchants of the items’ intended destinations. Access USA would regularly change the accurate value and nature  of items on export documentation.

Bryan Evan Singer

September 2018. Bryan Evan Singer, a Texas resident was sentenced in the Southern District of Florida to 6.5 years in prison for unlawfully exporting electronic devices that require a license due to national security controls, to Cuba. Singer intended to travel from Stock Island, Florida to Havana, Cuba aboard his vessel “La Mala.” Law enforcement conducted an outbound inspection of the boat and discovered a hidden compartment containing  hundreds of electronic devices, valued at over $30,000.

Imran Khan

September 2018. Imran Khan, of North Haven, was sentenced to three years probation, the first six months of which must be served in home confinement, for violating U.S. export law. U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill also ordered KHAN to perform 100 hours of community service and pay a $3,000 fine. According to court documents and statements made in court, from at least 2012 to December 2016, Khan and members of his family engaged in a scheme to export goods controlled under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”), without a license to Pakistan.

Konstantin Chekhovskoi

March 2018. Konstantin Chekhovskoi was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for illegally attempting to export from the U.S. more than $100,000 in munitions. Chekhovskoi was apprehended at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. In his checked baggage were firearm parts, ammunition and accessories, many of which were designed for assault rifles. Chekhovskoi lacked the required license for the export-controlled items.

Vladmir Nevidomy

March 2018. Vladimir Nevidomy, of Hallandale Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty, to conspiring to illegally export military-grade devices to Russia. Customers in Russia contacted Nevidomy requesting night vision rifle scopes, thermal monoculars and ammunition primers, all of which were on the U.S. Munitions List and subject to export control by the U.S. Department of State.  Nevidomy obtained the items from U.S. vendors by falsely representing that the items were not for export.

Alireza Jalali

March 2018. Alireza Jalali, of Iran, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States. Jalali was an employee of Green Wave Telecommunication, a front company for Fanavar Moj Khavar (Fana Moj), an Iran-based company. Green Wave was used to acquire export-controlled technology from the U.S on behalf of Fana Moj. In order to accomplish this, Jalali and his co-conspirators concealed the ultimate unlawful destination and end users of the exported technology through false statements, unlawful financial transactions, and other means.

2017 U. S. Export Violations

Peter Zuccarelli

August 2017. Peter Zuccarelli, of Plano, Texas pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle and illegally export radiation hardened integrated circuits (RHICs) from the U.S. to China and Russia for use in their space programs, a violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). RHICs have both military and space applications, and therefore their export is strictly controlled.

Amin al-Baroudi

June 2017. Amin al-Baroudi, was sentenced to 32 months in prison for conspiring to export U.S.-origin goods from the United States to Syria in violation of sanctions imposed on Syria by the U.S. government. Baroudi admitted that he and his co-conspirators exported U.S. tactical equipment to Syria for the purpose of supplying and arming insurgent groups in Syria.

Fuyi Sun, AKA Frank

April 2017. FUYI SUN, aka “Frank,” pleaded guilty to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) in connection with a plan to illegally export to China, without a license, high-grade carbon fiber, which is used primarily in aerospace and military applications.

Access USA Shipping, LLC

March 2017. The Bureau of Industry and Security announced that it had reached a $27 million civil settlement with Access USA Shipping, LLC (Access USA), of Sarasota, Florida, to settle charges that it committed violations of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Access USA settled 129 counts of evasion, including 17 counts of exporting or attempting to export crime control items without the required license, and 4 counts of exporting or attempting to export to a sanctioned entity on the BIS Entity List without the required license.

ZTE Corp.

March 2017. China’s Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd., known collectively as ZTE, agreed to a record-high combined civil and criminal penalty of $1.19 billion, after illegally shipping telecommunications equipment to Iran and North Korea in violation of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR).

Alexander Posobilov

February 2017. Alexander Posobilov was sentenced to 135 months’ in prison for conspiring to export and illegally exporting controlled microelectronics to Russia, as well as for conspiring to launder money. Posobilov, together with ten other individuals and two corporations – ARC Electronics, Inc. (ARC) and Apex System, L.L.C. (Apex) – were indicted in October 2012. Posobilov and two co-conspirators were subsequently convicted at trial on all counts in October 2015.

2016 U. S. Export Violations

Lim Yong Nam, aka Steven Lim

December 2016. Lim Yong Nam, aka Steven Lim, a citizen of Singapore, pleaded guilty to a federal charge related to his role in a conspiracy that allegedly caused thousands of radio frequency modules to be illegally exported from the U.S. to Iran. At least 16 of the components were later found in improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Iraq, that had not been detonated. He pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the U.S.

Mansour Moghtaderi Zadeh

October 2016. Mansour Moghtaderi Zadeh, an Iranian national, pleaded guilty to involvement in a conspiracy regarding the purchase and shipment of various products, including aviation parts and supplies, from the U.S. to Iran without a license. Zadeh, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully export goods, technology and services to Iran without the required license and to defraud the U.S.

Alexander Brazhnikov Jr.

June 2016. Alexander Brazhnikov Jr., was sentenced to 70 months imprisonment for his role in an international procurement network that obtained and smuggled more than $65 million worth of electronics from the United States to Russia in violation of export control laws. Brazhnikov also agreed to a forfeiture money judgment against him for $65 million.

Kan Chen

June 2016. Kan Chen, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment and three years supervised release for conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR); attempting to violate the AECA and ITAR; and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. According to court documents, Chen caused or attempted to cause the illegal export of over 180 export-controlled items, valued at more than $275,000, from the United States to China.

Asim Fareed

June 2016. Asim Fareed, of North Brunswick, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide false statements in regard to the illegal export of goods to Iran. Fareed operated an export business in Somerset, New Jersey and agreed to ship items purchased by customers in Iran and to provide false documentation to the U.S. Department of Commerce for export purposes.

Global Metallurgy, LLC

June 2016. Erdal Kuyumcu, chief executive officer of Global Metallurgy, LLC, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in connection with the export of specialty metals from the United States to Iran.  Kuyumcu, a U.S. citizen, conspired to export from the United States to Iran a metallic powder composed of cobalt and nickel without obtaining the required license from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Ali Reza Parsa

May 2016. Ali Reza Parsa, a Canadian-Iranian dual citizen, was sentenced to three years in prison for participating in a conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR).  Parsa conspired to purchase electronic components, usable in the production of rockets and missiles, from American companies for eventual delivery to Iran.

CGG Services S.A.,

February, 2016. CGG Services S.A.—a provider of services and goods for oil and gas exploration—has agreed to pay $614,250 to settle potential civil liability for allegedly exporting U.S. origin goods, spare parts and other equipment from the United States to vessels that were operating in Cuba’s territorial waters. The allegations also included processing data from seismic surveys within Cuba’s Exclusive Economic Zone benefiting a Cuban company.

Halliburton Atlantic Limited and Halliburton Overseas

February, 2016. Halliburton Atlantic Limited agreed to pay $304,706 for the settlement of a potential civil liability in connection with the alleged violation of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations. Two subsidiaries of Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. allegedly committed the violations by dealing in property in which Cuba had an interest when they exported goods and services, totaling $1,189,752, in support of oil and gas exploration and drilling activities within Angola’s Cabinda Onshore South Block oil concession

2015 U.S. Export Violations

Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank

October, 2015. Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank or CA-CIB, and its predecessors agreed to pay a settlement of $329,593,585 for processing thousands of transactions in violation of Sudanese and Iranian Sanctions Regulations. Personnel were aware of U.S. sanctions and understood the requirement to block or reject transactions involving an OFAC-sanctioned country or person. Despite this knowledge, they used cover payments and implemented special payment practices that skipped over references to U.S.-sanctioned entities or countries.

Commerzbank AG

March, 2015. Commerzbank AG agreed to settle with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for $258,660,796 for violations of multiple sanctions programs involving parties from Iran, Sudan, Burma and Cuba. Processing thousands of transactions through U.S. financial institutions, Commerzbank engaged in payment practices that removed, omitted, obscured, or otherwise failed to include references to U.S.-sanctioned persons.

Life for Relief and Development

March, 2015. Life for Relief and Development agreed to a $780,000 civil settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for knowingly and willfully forming a conspiracy for the purpose of transferring funds from the United States to Iran. In calculating the penalty amount, OFAC considered three such fund transfers totaling $236,000, and the formation of the conspiracy itself.

Paypal Inc.

March, 2015. PayPal agreed to a $7,658,300 civil liability settlement after processing transactions in apparent violation of sanctions programs administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). OFAC determined that PayPal voluntarily self-disclosed the apparent violations and failure to employ adequate screening technology and procedures to reject or block prohibited transactions.

Hsien Tai Tsai

March, 2015. Hsien Tai Tsai pled guilty and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for providing goods and services to a North Korean arms dealer for use in weapons programs. Tsai conducted business under different company names as a cover up and was associated with at least three companies based in Taiwan.

Russell Henderson Marshall

April, 2015. Russell Henderson Marshall was sentenced to serve 41 months in prison, and his company Universal Industries Inc., sentenced to one year probation after violating a denial order by attempting to send three temperature transmitters used on military aircraft to Thailand and Pakistan.

Bilal Ahmed

May, 2015. The Bolingbrook, Illinois owner and president of Trexim Corporation was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison and two years of supervision after pleading guilty to one count of willfully violating export control regulations. Ahmed attempted to ship a thermal imaging camera from his company to a company in Pakistan without obtaining the necessary licenses.

John Bean Technologies

June, 2015. John Bean Technologies agreed to pay $391,950 to settle potential civil liability for alleged violations of Executive Order 13382 and/or the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations. The Chicago corporation appeared to have violated regulations when goods they sold to a Chinese company were shipped by Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) aboard a blocked vessel from Spain to China.

Blue Robin Inc.

July, 2015. Blue Robin Inc. was issued a penalty of $82,260 for violating the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR) by importing web development services from Iranian company PersiaBME. Blue Robin was aware that they were doing business with an Iranian company without taking adequate compliance measures, but ultimately self-disclosed the violation.

Navigators Insurance Company

August, 2015.Navigators Insurance Company agreed to remit $271,815 to settle its potential civil liability for 48 apparent violations after its U.K. branch issued insurance policies to North Korean-flagged vessels that covered incidents that occurred in Iran, Sudan and Cuba. Navigators Insurance Company allegedly did not have a formal OFAC compliance program in place at the time the apparent violations occurred.

Schlumberger Oilfield Holdings Ltd.

August, 2015. Schlumberger Oilfield Holdings Ltd. agreed to pay a $232,708,356 penalty for allegedly violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by facilitating illegal transactions and engaging in trade with Iran and Sudan.

Production Products Inc.

August, 2015. Production Products Inc. agreed to pay $78,750 to settle civil liability for two alleged violations of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 544. Production Products Inc. allegedly shipped three duct fabrication machines to China National Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp. and received payments without OFAC authorization.

2014 U.S. Export Violations

Wind River Systems

October, 2014. Wind River Systems agreed to pay $750,000 in order to settle allegations that it had sold encryption software to entities on the BIS Entity List. The penalty was approved to “serve as a reminder to companies of their responsibility to know their customers and, when using license exceptions, to ensure their customers are eligible recipients”.

Robbins & Myers Belgium S.A

October, 2014. Robbins & Myers Belgium S.A pled guilty to the illegal export of drilling equipment to Syria. The company agreed to pay $1,000,000 in criminal fines for the export of the goods, which they sold initially for only $31,716.

Harold Rinko

September, 2014. Harold Rinko pled guilty to conspiracy to illegally export laboratory equipment from the U.S. to Syria via Jordan, the U.A.E., and the U.K. Rinko could be sentenced to up to five years in prison, as well as fined up to $250,000.

Epsilon Electronics Inc.

July, 2014. Epsilon Electronics Inc. was assessed a penalty of $4,073,000 for allegedly violating the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR) after shipping audio and video equipment to a company that it knew, or ought to have known, would re-export it to Iran. Epsilon’s lack of a compliance program was mentioned as one factor that helped determine the severity of the fine.

Bank of America, N.A.

July, 2014. Bank of America, N.A. agreed to pay $16,562,700 to settle allegations it violated the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Sanctions Act (FNKSR). The apparent violations included a failure to block five accounts owned by individuals on OFAC’s SDN List, and processing 208 transactions conducted by said individuals. The apparent violations were determined to be egregious, due in part to deficiencies known to be present in its OFAC Screening Tool.

Intersil Corporation

June, 2014. Intersil Corporation entered into a consent agreement with the DDTC to settle allegations that it had engaged in the unauthorized export and re-export of integrated circuits controlled under ITAR, leading to potentially thousands of export violations. As part of the consent agreement, Intersil agreed to pay $6,000,000 in fines and a further $4,000,000 on remedial compliance measures, a total penalty of $10,000,000.

BNP Paribas SA

June, 2014. BNP Paribas SA agreed to pay $963,619,900 to settle apparent violations of OFAC regulations involving multiple financial transfers to the Sudan, Iran, Burma, and Cuba, over the span of several years. Multiple factors contributed to the severity of the fine, among them senior managment’s knowledge of the apparent violations and the company’s lack of a adequate compliance policies and procedures.

Fokker Services

June, 2014: Fokker Services B.V. (FSBV) agreed to pay $21,000,000 to settle allegations that it repeatedly violated the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR) and the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations (SSR) by exporting or reexporting aircraft spare parts to Iran and the Sudan. The apparent violations were determined to be egregious, in part because FSBV had no formal OFAC compliance process in place during most of the period in which the violations were alleged to have occurred.

Janiece Michelle Hough

June, 2014 Janiece Michelle Hough was found guility of one count of smuggling goods from the United States after she shipped two Advanced Combat Optical Gunsights to Germany as part of her home business operations. She did so without the requisite license needed for the parts under the ITAR. Following her guilty plea, Hough was sentenced to six months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. Hough was also ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and to forfeit $198,054.

Decolar.com, Inc.

May, 2014. Decolar.com, Inc. agreed to pay $2,809,800 to settle alleged violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR). The settlement amount was influenced in part by the lack of any OFAC compliance program at the time of the apparant violations.

Aramex Emirates, LLC

May, 2014: The Bureau of Industry and Security announced that Aramex Emirates, LLC, located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), agreed to pay a $125,000 civil penalty in connection with the unlicensed export and reexport to Syria, via the U.A.E., of network devices and software without the required BIS licenses.

CWT B.V.

April, 2014. CWT B.V. agreed to pay $5,990,490 to settle allegations it violated the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR). The settlement amount was influenced by the fact that CWT was a “sophisticated international corporation” that nonetheless lacked an adequate OFAC compliance program.

Hetran, Inc

April, 2014. Hetran, Inc. and its CEO, Helmut Oertmann were charged with conspiracy to evade export reporting requirements and with smuggling to Iran. The item in question, a dual-use single lathe machine. The company now faces a potential fine of up to $1,000,000, while Oertmann could receive a prison term of up to ten years if found guilty.

John Alexander Talley

April, 2014: A U.S. District Judge sentenced John Alexander Talley (42, Seattle, Washington) to 30 months in federal prison for conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transaction Regulations. According to court documents, from about 2009 to about September 2012, Talley and his company conspired with others to unlawfully export sophisticated enterprise level computer equipment from the United States to Iran, and to provide computer information technology (IT) support services for the equipment, all in violation of the United States embargo.

Esterline Technologies Corporation

March, 2014. Esterline Technologies Corporation entered into a consent agreement with the DDTC to settle allegations that it improperly transfered technical data to foreign person employees and misclassified defense items controlled under ITAR. As part of the consent agreement, Esterline agreed to pay $10,000,000 in fines and another $10,000,000 for remedial compliance measures, a total penalty of $20,000,000.

Ubiquiti Networks, Inc

March, 2014. Ubiquiti Networks, Inc agreed to pay $504,225 to settle allegations it violated the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR). The apparent violations involved the export or re-export of broadband wireless technology to Iran. Though the case was ruled non-egregious, the settlement amount was influenced by the fact that Ubiquiti had no OFAC compliance program in place at the time the violations allegedly occurred.

Intevac

February, 2014: The Bureau of Industry and Security announced that it reached a $115,000 civil settlement with Intevac, Inc., of California. BIS fined the company for five violations of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), including the unauthorized release of export controlled manufacturing technology to a Russian national working at its U.S. facility. The settlement involves “deemed exports,” releases of controlled technology made to a foreign national located in the U.S.

Domingos, Carlos (Spain Night Vision)

February, 2014. Carlos Dominguez was administratively debarred due to the alleged re-export without proper U.S. authorization of hundreds of night vision goggles, in addition to other defense articles and related technical data, controlled under ITAR.

Area S.p.A.

February, 2014. Italy-based Area S.p.A agreed to pay a civil penalty of $100,000 to settle allegations that it deliberately sold U.S. origin network monitoring technology to a Syrian firm.

Joint-Stock Commercial Bank “Bank of Moscow”

January, 2014. Joint-Stock Commercial Bank “Bank of Moscow” agreed to pay $9,492,525 to settle allegations it violated the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations and Executive Order 13382 by transferring funds to Iran from Russia. OFAC found the absence of adequate compliance polices to be an aggravating factor in the case.

Clearstream Banking, S.A.

January, 2014. Clearstream Banking, S.A. Sagreed to pay $151,902,000 to settle allegations it violated the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR). Clearstream’s quick response to the apparent violations, which included implementing strong sanctions compliance standards, was considered a mitigating factor that prevented the penalties from being higher.

Mozaffar Khazaee

January, 2014. Mozaffar Khazaee is indicted on two counts of transporting, transmitting and transferring in interstate commerce goods obtained by theft, conversion, or fraud. He is alleged to have stolen proprietary material relating to military jet engines, and then attempted to transport it to Iran. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

2013 U.S. Export Violations

Selected U.S. Export Enforcement and Embargo Criminal Prosecutions

The following are snapshots of some selected export and embargo-related criminal prosecutions handled by the Justice Department. These cases resulted from investigations by the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the Pentagon’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), and other law enforcement agencies. Also included are several settlement cases, illustrating civil penalties.

Peter Gromacki

November, 2013: the United States Attorney announced that Peter Gromacki, a U.S. citizen, was sentenced in federal court to three months in prison for exporting high-grade carbon fiber to China. In order to evade United States restrictions on export of this type of carbon fiber to China, Gromacki enlisted the help of co-conspirators in Europe and China and made false statements on U.S. customs forms.

Weatherford International Ltd

November, 2013: The Bureau of Industry and Security announced Weatherford International Ltd. in Houston, Texas, and four of its subsidiaries (collectively, “Weatherford”) have agreed to pay a $50 million civil penalty following allegations that they exported oil and gas equipment to Iran, Syria and Cuba in violation of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR). The fine is largest civil penalty levied by the Bureau of Industry and Security to date.

Meggitt

August, 2013. Meggitt faces proposed charges based on allegations that it violated section 38 of the AECA and section 127 of the ITAR in connection with the unauthorized export of defense articles, to include technical data; the unauthorized provisions of defense services; violation of the terms of provisos or other limitations of license authorizations; and, the failure to maintain specific records involving ITAR-controlled transactions. To settle these allegations, Meggitt shall pay in fines and in remedial compliance measures a civil penalty of twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000). Twenty-two million dollars ($22,000,000) of this civil penalty will be suspended as set forth in paragraph (17)(b) of the Consent Agreement on the condition that Meggitt applies this amount to self-initiated, pre-Consent Agreement remedial compliance measures.

Aeroflex

August, 2013. Aeroflex faces proposed charges based on allegations that it violated section 38 of the AECA and section 127 of the ITAR in connection with violations related to the unauthorized export, retransfer, and re-export of defense articles, to include technical data, including to proscribed destinations. To settle these allegations, Aeroflex shall pay in fines and in remedial compliance measures a civil penalty of eight million dollars ($8,000,000). Four million dollars ($4,000,000) of this civil penalty will be suspended as set forth in paragraph (19)(b) of the Consent Agreement on the condition that Aeroflex applies this amount to self-initiated, pre-Consent Agreement remedial compliance measures.

Precision Image Corporation

July, 2013. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that Precision Image Corporation owner Chih-Kwang Hwa pled guilty to exporting restricted technical data to a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer. He now faces a potential maximum penalty of a 20 year prison term and $1,000,000 fine at his sentencing.

American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

July, 2013. The Treasury Department announced that American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. had agreed to pay a $5,226,120 settlement after having apparent violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR). The company had issued over 14,000 tickets for travel between Cuba and various countries other than the U.S. Many of these countries had laws that permitted activities prohibited by the CACR, and so the tickets required OFAC authorization, which was neither sought nor given. The fine was particularly heavy because investigators determined that the company had an inadequate compliance program given the scope of its activities.

Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A

June, 2013. The Treasury Department announced that Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A had agreed to pay a $2,949,030 settlement after apparently violating several OFAC sanctions. Among Intesa’s sins, it had conducted business with an Italian firm, Irasco, that was found to be Iranian owned. The fine was particularly harsh because Intesa was found to have failed to maintain a sufficiently robust compliance program over the time the apparent violations took place.

The American Steamship Owners Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association, Inc.

May, 2013. The Treasury Department announced that The American Steamship Owners Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association, Inc. had agreed to pay a $348,000 settlement for apparent violations of various OFAC sanctions. Their apparent offense? They processed insurance claims and issued Letters of Undertaking that involved Cuba, Iran, and Sudan.

Lisong Ma

May, 2013. The Bureau of Industry and Security announced that Lisong Ma, a Chinese citizen, allegedly tried to export weapons-grade carbon fiber to China. He potentially faces up to 20 years in prison and a million dollar fine if convicted.

Alex Tsai and Gary Tsai

May, 2013. The Bureau of Industry and Security announced that Alex Tsai and Gary Tsai allegedly tried to unlawfully export controlled metal-working equipment to North Korea. According to the BIS press release “Violating IEEPA carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine; money laundering carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine; and conspiracy to defraud the United States carries a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.”

Computerlinks FZCO

April, 2013. The Bureau of Industry and Security announced that Computerlinks FZCO would pay a $2,800,000 settlement over alleged violations of the EAR. Computerlinks allegedly exported and reexported software and equipment to Syria without proper export licenses.

Raytheon Company

April, 2013. The DDTC announced that Raytheon Company had agreed to pay a $4,000,000 penalty for violating multiple sections of the ITAR and spend an additional $4,000,000 on remedial measures to prevent future violations. Raytheon was found, among other things, to have inaccurately tracked temporary imports and exports, to have improperly documented those imports and exports, and to have allowed foreign partners to have manufactured approved exports beyond the amount permitted by their licenses.

Mehdi Khorramshahgol

March, 2013. The Bureau of Industry and Security reported that Mehdi Khorramshahgol allegedly reexported industrial parts to Iran after initially exporting them to the United Arab Emirates. He now faces up to twenty years in prison if convicted.

EGL, Inc.

March, 2013. The Treasury Department announced that EGL, Inc. had agreed to pay a $139,650 settlement for alleged violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations and the Cuban Assets Control Regulations. EGL made the mistake of acting as a freight forwarder for a company shipping to an oil rig located in Iranian waters.

American Optisurgical, Inc.

February, 2013. The Treasury Department announced that American Optisurgical had agreed to pay a $404,100 settlement after having allegedly violated the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations by selling medical supplies to Iranian parties or to third parties known to be passing the supplies to Iranian entities. The stiffness of the fine was mitigated by the fact that that OFAC would have granted a license for the supplies if one had been properly sought.

Offshore Marine Laboratories

February, 2013. The Treasury Department announced that Offshore Marine Laboratories agreed to pay a $97,695 settlement after having allegedly violated the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations. The company shipped supplies to the United Arab Emirates, but the ultimate destination was known to be, or ought to have been known to be, an Iranian oil rig.

Timothy Gormley

January, 2013. The Bureau of Industry and Security reported that Timothy Gormley unlawfully shipped controlled microwave amplifiers to multiple prohibited countries. He was sentenced to 42 months in prison for this crime.

Ellman International

January, 2013. The Treasury Department announced that Ellman International agreed to pay a $191,700 settlement after having allegedly violated the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations. In this case, the violation of OFAC sanctions was found to be willful and with knowledge of the illegal nature of the transactions involved. However, the violations took place under a different ownership, and the new owners were the ones who brought the matter to OFAC’s attention. They also took steps to implement a robust compliance program to help prevent future violations. In light of this, the fines were lessened considerably.

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