The Bureau of Industry and Security this week suspended the export privileges of two Canadian residents after they tried to ship controlled goods without the required licenses.
Kambiz Attar Kashani, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Iran, was sentenced Feb. 9 to 30 months in prison for "conspiring to illegally export U.S. goods and technology to users in Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran, in violation of the International Economic Powers Act," DOJ announced. The Central Bank of Iran has supported designated terrorist organizations, including the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, according to the U.S. government.
Vladimir Voronchenko, a Russian citizen and legal permanent resident of the U.S., was charged with participating in a scheme to net over $4 million to maintain four properties in the U.S. owned by sanctioned oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, DOJ announced. Voronchenko also tried to sell two of the properties.
The Bureau of Industry and Security suspended the export privileges of an Illinois resident for illegally exporting controlled equipment to Pakistan, the agency said in an order last week. BIS said Obaidullah Syed was convicted May 17, 2022, of conspiring to export computers, computer systems and “associated equipment” from the U.S. to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission without a Commerce Department license (see 2205200033). Syed was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, one year and one day of supervised release, a $100 assessment and a forfeiture of $247,000. BIS suspended Syed’s export privileges for 10 years from the conviction date.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week suspended the export privileges of six people for illegally exporting defense items -- from guns and ammunition to night-vision goggles -- to Hong Kong, Iran, Mexico and Ukraine.
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week renewed its temporary denial order for a Venezuela-based cargo airline after saying it continues to try to violate U.S. export restrictions (see 2208030014). BIS said Empresa de Transporte Aereocargo del Sur, also known as Aerocargo del Sur Transportation or Emtrasur, has shown a “blatant disregard for U.S. export controls and the terms of a preexisting TDO.”
Charles McGonigal, former special agent in charge of the New York FBI counterintelligence division, and Sergey Shestakov, a Russian court interpreter and former diplomat, were charged with conspiring to commit money laundering and money laundering, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced. The two were charged with one count of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, one count of violating the IEEPA, one count of conspiring to launder money and one count of money laundering, each carrying a maximum 20-year prison sentence. Shestakov also was charged with one count of making false statements, which has a five-year maximum prison sentence.
The Bureau of Industry and Security suspended the export privileges of two people for illegally exporting guns and ammunition.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia sentenced Mun Chol Myong, a North Korean national, to time served of 45 months in prison for money laundering offenses, DOJ announced. Mun is the first North Korean national to be extradited to the U.S., and he will be subject to deportation after the completion of his sentence, DOJ said.
The Supreme Court of the U.S. held oral arguments on Jan. 17 over Turkish state-owned Halkbank's claims that the U.S. judicial system does not have the jurisdiction to hear criminal cases against foreign governments and their state-owned entities. Halkbank is attempting to shirk prosecution over its efforts to help Iran evade U.S. sanctions in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The bank's arguments received a mixed reaction from the Supreme Court, with numerous justices expressing doubt over the plaintiff's claims that it is immune from criminal prosecution under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. U.S., #21-1450).