A Lebanese energy equipment company was fined $368,000 by the Bureau of Industry and Security after it illegally reexported generators to Syria, according to a settlement agreement signed Nov. 27. Ghaddar Machinery allegedly committed 20 violations of the Export Administration Regulations from 2014 to 2016, totaling about $730,000 worth of exports, BIS said. Ghaddar agreed to pay the penalty in five installments through November 2021. Failure to make the payments could result in more penalties, according to the settlement agreement, including a two-year denial of export privileges.
The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security renewed an export denial order for Mahan Airways because the airline continues to violate the order and the Export Administration Regulations, BIS said in a notice. The Iranian airline has been on the banned list since 2008, and the notice renewed the ban for 180 days, BIS said. Since the order was last renewed June 5 (see 1906060054), the U.S. has discovered that the airline is now operating a U.S.-origin Boeing 747 between Iranian airports in Tehran, Kish Island and Mashhad. The aircraft “appears to be” one of three planes Mahan illegally acquired through Blue Airways of Armenia and United Kingdom-based Balli Group, BIS said. In addition, Mahan was involved in the illegal export of a U.S.-origin atomic absorption spectrometer from the U.S. to Iran via the United Arab Emirates in November. The spectrometer is subject to the EAR, and the export violated the terms of Mahan’s denial order, BIS said.
Export Compliance Daily is providing this recap of sanctions and export controls enforcement over the past year. Intended to assist export compliance professionals, lawyers and others in the export world stay up to date with current enforcement trends, this guide includes summaries of prominent enforcement actions by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Controls, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, and the Justice Department since Export Compliance Daily began publishing in March 2019.
A Lebanese energy equipment company was fined $368,000 by the Bureau of Industry and Security after it illegally re-exported generators to Syria, according to a settlement agreement signed Nov. 27. Ghaddar Machinery allegedly committed 20 violations of the Export Administration Regulations from 2014 to 2016, totaling about $730,000 worth of exports, BIS said. Ghaddar agreed to pay the penalty in five installments through November 2021. Failure to make the payments could result in more penalties, according to the settlement agreement, including a two-year denial of export privileges.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 25-29 in case you missed them.
A U.S. electronics and computer component company may have violated U.S. sanctions on Iran and Syria, the company said in a Nov. 7 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Colorado-based Arrow Electronics said a “limited number of non-executive employees … facilitated product shipment” to customers for re-export to people covered by U.S. sanctions on Iran and Syria. The transactions took place between 2015 and 2019 and were valued at about $5,000, the company said. Arrow Electronics said it voluntarily disclosed the potential violations to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls and the Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security earlier this year. It also disciplined or fired employees involved in the transactions and said it plans to “cooperate fully” with BIS and OFAC. The company said it is not able to “estimate” the potential penalty it may receive.
The Department of Commerce published its fall 2019 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security. The agenda includes a new mention of its intent to potentially control certain additive manufacturing equipment, or 3D printing, used in “energetic materials” as part of BIS’s effort to restrict sales of emerging technologies (see 1911210051). The notice of proposed rulemaking aims to gather feedback from industries while “discussions are ongoing” at the Wassenaar Arrangement. BIS said it aims to issue the proposed rule in November.
The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security finalized some interagency reviews of Huawei license applications and will begin issuing approvals and denials on a “rolling basis,” according to Matt Borman, Commerce deputy assistant secretary for export administration. The announcement was first made by Secretary Wilbur Ross, who told Fox Business on Nov. 19 that Commerce has started “to send out the 20-day intent-to-deny letters and some approvals.” Ross also said Commerce has received about 290 “requests for specific licenses.”
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 12-15 in case they were missed.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross named Cordell Hull deputy undersecretary for industry and security and Joe Semsar the deputy undersecretary at the International Trade Administration, a Commerce spokesperson said Nov. 18. The two were appointed to their positions Nov. 12, the spokesperson said.