A Lebanese businessman was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to forfeit $50 million for violating U.S. sanctions and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Justice Department said in an Aug. 8 press release. Kassim Tajideen pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to “launder monetary instruments” after the Justice Department said his network of Lebanese and African businesses helped finance Hezbollah.

The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control found a U.S. company in violation of OFAC’s Reporting, Procedures and Penalties Regulations for failing to provide information about a sale to Iran after being subpoenaed, OFAC said in an Aug. 8 enforcement notice. The violations stem from Southern Cross Aviation’s sale of helicopters to an Iranian businessman in Ecuador, OFAC said.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said a Virginia-based company violated OFAC’s Reporting, Procedures and Penalties Regulations after providing the agency false or misleading statements during an OFAC investigation, according to an Aug. 8 enforcement notice. The violation stems from DNI Express Shipping Company’s sale of farm equipment to Sudan, which OFAC said violated the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations.

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security denied a woman export privileges after she was convicted of illegally exporting space communication technology from the U.S. to Hong Kong in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Commerce said Aug. 5. Si Chen was convicted in October 2018 and sentenced to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release. She is banned from exporting items from the U.S. until Oct. 10, 2028, Commerce said.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security denied a man export privileges after he was convicted in August 2018 of helping to illegally export about 1,000 rounds of ammunition from the U.S. to Mexico in violation of the Arms Export Control Act, Commerce said Aug. 5. Juan Jesus De La Rosa was sentenced to 27 months in prison and three years of supervised release for aiding and abetting the export and trying to export the ammunition, which were designated as defense items on the U.S. Munitions List and required a State Department license. De La Rosa is banned from exporting from the U.S. until Aug. 28, 2028.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security denied a man export privileges after he was convicted of illegally exporting a “barrel and breech casing” for a Glock carbine pistol to Latvia, Commerce said Aug. 5. Michael Shapovalov, who was sentenced to 34 months in prison after his May 2018 conviction for violating the Arms Export Control Act, is banned from exporting from the U.S. until May 23, 2025.

Four Chinese nationals and a Chinese company were charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and U.S. sanctions after they did business with sanctioned North Korean companies, the Justice Department said in a July 23 press release. The charges were brought against Ma Xiaohong, her company Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co. Ltd. (DHID) and three of the company’s top executives: general manager Zhou Jianshu (Zhou), deputy general manager Hong Jinhua (Hong) and financial manager Luo Chuanxu (Luo).

An Iranian citizen pleaded guilty to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Iran sanctions after she tried to illegally export gas turbine parts from the U.S. to Iran, the Department of Justice said in a July 19 press release. Mahin Mojtahedzadeh faces a maximum 20-year prison sentence and $1 million fine when sentenced in November.

The Department of Justice announced charges against three Iranian citizens for violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act after they exported carbon fiber from the U.S. to Iran, according to a July 16 press release. One of the Iranian citizens, Behzad Pourghannad, was extradited to the U.S. from Germany on July 15. The other two -- Ali Reza Shokri and Farzin Faridmanesh -- have not yet been arrested, the DOJ said.

Commerce denied export privileges for two Iranian nationals and their company after they tried to export a $15,000 micro drill press from the U.S. to Iran, Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security said in a July 8 denied export order. Commerce also fined them $300,000 for trying to violate the Export Administration Regulations and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations.