More and more enforcement actions
Do you also see currently more and more enforcement actions from export control authorities and prosecutors ? Some have been in the news recently. Have a look on the selection hereafter.
Do you know any other recent cases in your country or abroad? Post them on RespectUs Forum.
US - Gun parts hidden in packages sent to Hong Kong
The instructions were simple. Stuff the gun parts into sneakers and then cover them with Doritos or chips before shipping them through FedEx.
Two Malaysian nationals, aged 36 and 27, were caught sending gun parts (to assemble AR-15 style weapons and 9mm handguns) to a buyer in Hong Kong. Many of the firearm parts are restricted items that cannot be exported from the United States without a license.
They used eBay and other websites, to buy parts online. The buyer in Hong Kong exchanged through WhatsApp and instructed them on what parts to buy and the websites to use.
They were sentenced by a Boston court to federal prison for conspiring to violate the U.S. Arms Export Control Act. One was sentenced to serve 8 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release, the second one to 5 years of probation. Both men were fined USD 10.000 each.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice Press Release (28 May 2021)
US - Illegal exports to Iran
A 46 years old Las Vegas woman has been indicted for conspiracy to export goods from the United States to Iran. She is the owner of Top One Zone, LLC, a company exporting electronic and computer components that operates from her residence. As alleged, from November 2015 to May 2019 she conspired with others to buy and export goods from companies in the United States, and then send those goods to individuals in Iran through companies in Hong Kong. She concealed the identities of the end users, and she did not have a license.
The trial is scheduled for 26 July.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice Press Release (28 May 2021)
Jersey - Firearms to Ukraine
A 63-year-old native of the Soviet Union, resident in Jersey, conspired with others, including someone in Ukraine, to export defense articles and various other regulated items without a required export license.
He bought firearms components and parts, ammunition, night-vision goggles and bulletproof vests from various dealers in the United States with money he received via wire transfers from overseas locations, including Ukraine and Russia, and then repackaged and shipped them to overseas locations. He also lied about the contents of the parcels when shipping the items. In September 2018, he tried to send a parcel from Middlesex County to Ukraine with tools and cartridges when it actually contained multiple upper receivers, ammunition magazines, threaded barrels for handguns, and a set of front and rear sights for a handgun.
He was now sentenced to two years in prison and to one year of supervised release
Source: My Central Jersey
More to follow:
US - Power turbine for a Russian Arctic deepwater drilling platform
US - Illegal exports to Russian Military and Space Program