5 People, 4 Firms Indicted for Exporting RF Modules to Iran, Later Found in IEDs
The Justice Department has announced that five individuals and four of their companies have been indicted as part of a conspiracy to defraud the U.S. that allegedly caused thousands of radio frequency modules to be illegally exported from the U.S. to Iran. At least 16 of those items were later found in unexploded improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Iraq. Some defendants are also charged in a conspiracy involving exports of military antennas to Singapore and Hong Kong.
(The charged defendants include (1) Iranian national, Hossein Larijani, and his companies Paya Electronics Complex (Iran) and Opto Electronics Pte, Ltd. (Singapore); (2) Wong Yuh Lan, an agent of Opto Electronics who was allegedly supervised by Larijani from Iran; (3) NEL Electronics Pte. Ltd. (Singapore) and its owner and director, Lim Yong Nam; (4) Corezing International Pte. Ltd., (Singapore, with offices in China) and its manager, director, and agent, Hia Soo Gan Benson; and (5) Lim Kow Seng, an agent of Corezing.)
Allegedly Shipped 6,000 U.S.-Origin Radio Frequency Modules to Iran
The indictment alleges that, between June 2007 and February 2008, Wong, Nam, Seng, and Hia fraudulently purchased and caused 6,000 radio frequency modules to be illegally exported from a Minnesota company through Singapore, and later to Iran, in five shipments, knowing that the export of U.S.-origin goods to Iran was a violation of U.S. law.
Filed False Documents Stating Singapore Was Final Destination of Modules
The defendants allegedly told the Minnesota company that Singapore was the final destination of the goods. The defendants also caused false documents to be filed with the U.S. government, in which they claimed that a telecommunications project in Singapore was the final end-use for the modules. In reality, each of the five shipments was routed from Singapore to Iran via air cargo. The alleged recipient of all 6,000 modules in Iran was Larijani, who had directed Wong, his employee in Singapore, to order them.
Modules Later Found in Iraq as Parts of Remote Detonation Systems for IEDs
No less than 16 of the modules were later discovered by coalition forces in Iraq in unexploded IEDs. The modules were being used as part of remote detonation systems of IEDs.
Some also Charged for Exporting Military Antennas to Singapore & Hong Kong
The indictment also charges Seng, Hia, and Corezing with a separate fraud conspiracy involving the illegal export of two types of military antenna from a Massachusetts company to Singapore and Hong Kong without the required State Department license. The military antennas exported include 55 cavity-backed spiral antennas and biconical antennas, which are controlled for export as U.S. munitions and are used in airborne and shipboard environments.
Undervalued Antennas to Avoid Filing Export Dec, Used False Companies, Etc.
Seng, Hia and Corezing are alleged to have, among other things, conspired to undervalue the antennas to circumvent U.S. regulations on the filing of shipper's export declarations to the U.S. government. They also allegedly used false names and front companies to obtain the antennas illegally from the U.S.
Commerce Dept Has Added Individuals & Companies to Entity List
In connection with these criminal actions, the Commerce Department has announced the addition of 15 persons located in China, Hong Kong, Iran and Singapore to the Department's Entity List. In addition to the five individual defendants in this case, the Department named additional companies and individuals associated with this conspiracy. In placing these parties on the Entity List, the Department is imposing a licensing requirement for any item subject to Commerce regulation with a presumption that such a license would be denied.
(In January 2010, the Department of Commerce placed Larijani's company, Opto Electronics, on the Entity List. In response, Larijani requested that his company be removed. Commerce officials advised Larijani that, in considering whether his firm should be removed from the list, he needed to disclose whether he or his firm had any involvement with Majid Kakavand or Evertop Services Sdn Bhd., which have been accused for illegally exporting U.S. goods to Iran. Larijani denied that he or his company had done any business with Kakavand or Evertop, however, the indictment alleges that Larijani had been in communication with others about his business dealings with Kakavand on at least five occasions from 2006 through 2009.)
(See ITT's Online Archives 11102640 for summary of the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security adding 15 parties to the Entity List.)
1According to the indictment, IEDs caused roughly 60% of all U.S. combat casualties in Iraq between 2001 and 2007.
DOJ press release is available here.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement press release is available here.