Iranian National Indicted for Illegally Shipping Spectrometry Equipment to Iran

Reza Sarhangpour Kafrani, an Iranian national living in Montreal, was indicted by a grand jury July 30 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for illegally exporting laboratory equipment from the U.S. to Iran, the Department of Justice said. Kafrani co-owned Prolife Global, based in Canada, where he sought to purchase spectrometry equipment to ultimately ship to Iran, DOJ alleged. After failing to get one U.S. company to ship the equipment to Montreal, Kafrani found a second American company that sent the merchandise to Canada, DOJ said. Kafrani then sent the equipment to the United Arab Emirates, then reexported it to Iran, it said.

Exports of this spectrometry equipment to the UAE require an export license from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security because the goods are regulated for nuclear nonproliferation purposes, DOJ said. Exports to Iran require a license from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Kafrani purchased three spectrometers and an autosampler for around $110,739, DOJ alleged. Kafrani also submitted two bids to OFAC for licenses to ship to Iran, which were both denied. The indictment against Kafrani charges him with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, causing a failure to submit export information and money laundering.