CBP officers at the Port of Wilmington, Delaware, seized a 2016 Range Rover that was being exported to Nigeria, due to undervaluation, the agency said in a news release. "Officers initially inspected the Range Rover October 29, which the New Jersey exporter valued at $13,000," CBP said. "A fair assessment of the vehicle is about $55,000." False export declarations can result in civil penalties, forfeiture and/or criminal charges, CBP said. “Export examinations are a critical component of Customs and Border Protection’s trade enforcement and border security missions,” said Casey Durst, director of field operations for CBP’s Baltimore Field Office. “CBP officers remain committed to intercepting these nefarious practices that deliberately circumvent our nation’s laws for financial gain.”

Four people were charged with trying to illegally export military-related goods to China, the Justice Department said Nov. 1. The four people -- Fan Yang, Yang Tang, Ge Songtao and Zheng Yan -- were involved in an attempt to illegally export seven military-style inflatable boats and eight engines to China, the Justice Department said. Yang, Ge and Zheng were also charged with filing false information in the Automated Export System, while Fan, Yang and Ge were charged with illegal arms transfer offenses, including a law that bans certain arms transfers to non-U.S. residents. Convictions for filing false export information may result in a maximum five-year prison sentence, the Justice Department said.

Four men were sentenced in Singapore after evading more than $1 million in duties on cigarettes, Singapore Customs said in an Oct. 31 press release. Singapore said the men were given prison sentences and fined “between $8 million and $34 million.”

Two oil executives pleaded guilty to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act after trying to use bribes to secure oil and gas contracts, the Justice Department said in an Oct. 30 press release. Cyrus Ahsani and Saman Ahsani, the CEO and COO of a Monaco-based intermediary company, tried to bribe officials in multiple countries with millions of dollars, the press release said.

A Florida resident was arrested for trying to illegally export dual-use goods to Libya, the Justice Department said in an Oct. 30 press release. Peter Sotis was charged with violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Export Administration Regulations.

An owner of a large freight forwarding company pleaded guilty to an antitrust charge after she fixed prices for international freight forwarding services, the Justice Department said Oct. 24. Francis Alvarez and others fixed prices from 2010 until 2014 for her Houston-based company, which shipped to Honduras, the Justice Department said. The charges constitute a violation of the Sherman Act and Alvarez faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence and a $1 million fine. She has agreed to cooperate with an ongoing investigation of the nationwide price-fixing conspiracy.

The Commerce Department revoked export privileges for Alexis Vlachos, who was convicted of violating the Arms Export Control Act in 2018 after illegally exporting firearms controlled on the U.S. Munitions List to Canada, Commerce said in an Oct. 23 notice. Vlachos was sentenced to 51 months in prison, and a $200 fine, the notice said. Commerce revoked Vlachos’ export privileges for seven years dating from her Sept. 4, 2018, conviction.

A California resident was indicted for illegally exporting 11 packages of turtles to Hong Kong, the Justice Department said in an Oct. 23 press release. Keri Zhang Wang allegedly placed the box turtles and map turtles inside socks, which she placed inside shoe boxes “with packing materials.” She placed the shoebox “under bags of snacks and chips for shipping” and did not label the packages as containing turtles, the Justice Department said. The turtles are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and Zhang Wang did not have the required permits to export them, the press release said. Zhang Wang was charged with four counts of smuggling goods and four counts of Lacey Act false labeling. She faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine.

An Ohio man was sentenced to 20 months in prison for illegally exporting gas and oil pipeline parts to Iran for more than a decade, the Justice Department said in an Oct. 24 press release. Behrooz Behroozian used an intermediary company, Sumar Industrial Equipment, to hide the exports, which violated U.S. sanctions on Iran and the Emergency Economic Powers Act, the press release said. Behroozian allegedly exported “manifolds, valves and connectors” used in the pipelines and oil industry, earning about $40,000 per year. Behroozian also owned Dublin-based Comtech International, a self-proclaimed computer parts supplier that instead of computer parts shipped industrial equipment to Behroozian’s company in the United Arab Emirates before it was then exported to Iran.

The U.S. will take ownership of a North Korean cargo ship after it violated U.S. sanctions and United Nations Security Council resolutions, the Justice Department said in an Oct. 21 press release. The U.S. originally seized the ship, the “Wise Honest,” after it transported coal and “heavy machinery” to and from North Korea and used U.S. banks for various transactions (see 1905090030). “This order of forfeiture sinks the Wise Honest’s career as one of North Korea’s largest sanctions-busting vessels,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in a statement, adding that the agency “will continue to pursue other property used to violate U.S. and international sanctions.”