State Dept. Offering Reward for Info on Iranian Who Violated Export Controls

The State Department is offering up to $15 million for information leading to the “disruption of financial mechanisms” of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including mechanisms used by Hossein Hatefi Ardakani, an Iranian businessman who helps procure technology and parts for Iran’s weapons programs, the agency said this week. Ardakani, who was charged in December with export control violations (see 2312190069), uses a network of companies in Malaysia, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates to buy items from the U.S. and other countries and ship them to Iran, the State Department said. The agency said U.S. aviation parts bought by Ardakani’s network have been found in destroyed Iranian drones on Ukraine battlefields.