US Convicts Salesman for Illegal Drill Exports to Iran
Brian Assi, a Middle East-based salesman of a heavy machinery manufacturer, was convicted last week of violating sanctions against Iran after he tried to export U.S.-made drills to Iran without licenses from the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
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DOJ said Assi “conspired” with people affiliated with Sakht Abzar Pars Co., an Iranian metal cutting and mining firm, to illegally buy the controlled drills using an American freight forwarder. The drills are used to create holes in the ground that can be filled with explosives for mining.
The case is being investigated by the Bureau of Industry and Security. Matthew Axelrod, the agency’s lead export enforcement official, said the case highlights that “no matter how hard you try to obfuscate your scheme to send restricted U.S. items to Iran, we will work tirelessly to bring your conduct to light and ensure you face justice.”
DOJ said Assi bought the drills by hiring an Iraqi distributor to purchase the equipment from the U.S.-based subsidiary of Assi’s employer. Although Assi intended to ship the drills from the U.S. to Turkey and then on to Iran -- which would violate U.S. sanctions and export controls -- he told his employer that the drills would be sent to Iraq, the agency said.
He hid this from his employer by sending false information to the U.S. freight forwarder hired by his employer, DOJ said. The forwarder then entered that incorrect information -- including incorrect details about the ultimate consignee and the ultimate delivery destination -- in the Automated Export System.
DOJ said Assi “misled” his employer by hiding that people in Iran “were the true intended recipients” of the drills. Assi and others “caused the transfer of approximately $2.7 million from Turkey to pass through the United States,” the agency said.
Assi is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 7