Owner of Chicago Tech Company Charged With Illegally Exporting Goods to Pakistan

The owner of a Chicago technology company was charged with illegally exporting computer equipment to a Pakistani government nuclear research agency, the Justice Department said Sept. 21. The indictment charges Chicago-area resident Padula Syed, who owns Chicago-based BSI USA as well as Pakistan-based Business System International Pvt. LTD. Syed and Business Systems International were charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and foreign trade regulations, and violating IEEPA.

Between 2006 and 2015, Syed and Business System International worked with company employees in Pakistan to illegally export U.S. computer equipment to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, which designs and tests nuclear weapons, Justice said. Syed and other employees told U.S. computer manufacturers that the equipment was intended for Pakistan-based universities, for Syed’s business or for Syed’s personal use. This led to submissions of export declarations with false information, including false end-users for U.S.-origin goods, Justice said.

Syed faces a maximum five-year prison sentence for conspiracy to violate IEEPA, and a maximum 20-year sentence for violating IEEPA. Other U.S. agencies have issued enforcement orders related to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, including the Commerce Department, which denied export privileges in January for five companies and five people for trying to illegally export items to the Pakistani agency (see 2001160012).