Ten people were charged for their alleged involvement in a $50 million Russian smuggling scheme, which included illegally exported electronics and violations of export filing requirements, the Justice Department said Oct. 19. The U.S. arrested eight people -- Akmal Asadov, Sayuz Daibagya, Anton Perevoznikov, Shohruh Saidov, Marat Shadkhin, Kirill Sokhonchuk, Zokir Iskanderov and Azamat Bobomurodov -- while two others remain at large.
The CEO of a sanctions-evading financial services company in Iran was sentenced to 23 months in prison for violating U.S. sanctions, the Justice Department said Oct. 15. Seyed Sajjad Shahidian, CEO of Payment24, helped Iranians conduct illegal transactions with businesses in the U.S., which included illegal exports of computer software, software licenses and computer servers. Shahidian was charged in May along with Payment24 Chief Operating Officer Vahid Vali for violating U.S. sanctions (see 2005190022). Shahidian pleaded guilty in June (see 2006170005).
An Illinois businessman and a Ukrainian resident were charged with illegally exporting gun parts and other defense items to Ukraine, the Department of Justice said in an Oct. 9 press release. Glenn Stepul worked with Ukrainian resident Andriy Yakin to export pistol slides and stainless steel gun barrels without the required State Department license, which violated the Arms Export Control Act, DOJ said. The two people also worked with an unnamed third person in Ukraine to export rifle scopes and night vision cameras without required licenses from the Commerce Department. Stepul hid the export-controlled items inside shipments of drilling equipment and falsely declared them as household goods, cosmetics, toys, stationary and cassettes, the charges say. Stepul pleaded not guilty to the charges on Oct. 8. Yakin is believed to be living in Ukraine, DOJ said, and the U.S. has issued a warrant for his arrest.
The U.S. seized 92 domain names used by Iran’s sanctioned Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to spread online propaganda, the Department of Justice said in an Oct. 7 news release. IRGC violated U.S. sanctions by using website and domain services in the U.S. without the required license from the Treasury Department, DOJ said. Use of the domains also violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act because the domains were operated by U.S. companies, which were not authorized to provide services to Iran.
A Morristown, New Jersey, woman was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to her role in a scheme to illegally smuggle millions of dollars worth of aircraft parts to Iran (see 1906110057), the Justice Department said Oct. 6. Joyce Eliabachus was charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act after she helped smuggle more than $2 million worth of aircraft components using freight forwarding companies in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Eliabachus used her Edsun Equipments LLC, run from her home, to buy the aircraft components from U.S. distributors before repackaging them and shipping them to the freight forwarders, the Justice Department said. Eliabachus also falsified the components' destination, end-users and value to avoid filing “export control forms.”
Two Massachusetts residents and their semiconductor company were charged with stealing proprietary information from another U.S. semiconductor company, the Justice Department said Oct. 1. Husband and wife Haoyang Yu and Yanzhi Chen and their company, Tricon MMIC LLC, allegedly stole hundreds of files belonging to Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI). Yu and Chen face potential prison sentences and fines for their charges, which include smuggling, transporting stolen goods and possession of a trade secret.
A group of human rights lawyers and law professors sued the Trump administration over its sanctions against the International Criminal Court, saying the measures violate freedom of speech laws and the U.S. Constitution. The group said the sanctions (see 2009300003) -- which the administration said are designed to target ICC officials for “harassment” and “abuse” of U.S. government officials (see 2006110028) -- will affect worldwide support for international justice.
The Singaporean owner of an auto company was fined $418,000 (in Singapore dollars) after he tried to avoid paying duties on imported motor vehicles, Singapore Customs said in an Oct. 1 notice. The agency said two companies paid Tan Wee Leng, owner of Zion Auto Imports, to declare “suppressed” values for motor vehicles on duty payment permits in 2015. One company paid Tan up to $2,000 for each permit, which allowed the company to evade paying large amounts of import duties. Singapore Customs said he helped the companies avoid more than $150,000 worth of duties.
Two Iranian men were charged in a conspiracy to illegally export computer servers to Iran, the Justice Department said Sept. 28. Ebrahim Azadegan and Alireza Alvandi were charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations when they allegedly tried to ship the servers without licenses. The servers are classified as dual-use goods under the Commerce Control List and are export controlled for anti-terrorism and national security reasons.
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia temporarily blocked the Commerce Department from implementing restrictions on TikTok (see 2009180026), according to court records filed Sept. 27. The Commerce Department said it will fight the injunction and said President Donald Trump’s August executive order (see 2008070024) was “fully consistent with the law” and addressed “legitimate” national security concerns. “The Government will comply with the injunction and has taken immediate steps to do so, but intends to vigorously defend the E.O. and the Secretary’s implementation efforts from legal challenges,” Commerce said. The court’s injunction came about one week after another court temporarily blocked Commerce from imposing similar restrictions on WeChat (see 2009210008).