US Charges Members of Iran Drone Procurement Network
DOJ this week announced charges against two Iranian nationals and one company for illegally sending export-controlled U.S. technology to Iran and for providing "material support" to the country's military.
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Hossein Akbari and Reza Amidi, along with their company, Iran-based Rah Roshd International Trade Exchanges Development, were charged with conspiring to procure U.S. parts for Iranian drones, conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and conspiring to commit money laundering. Akbari and Rah Roshd were also sanctioned this week by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and Amidi was previously sanctioned (see 2504010051).
Beginning from January 2020, DOJ said Amidi, who was previously sanctioned by OFAC, and Akbari shipped American-made parts to Iran for use in weapons, including in the Mohajer-6 drone used by Russia against Ukraine. The agency said the Ukranian Air Force shot down an Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drone used by the Russian military, and that drone contained parts made by a U.S. company whose parts were sold by Rah Roshd to Iran.
DOJ said Amidi and Akbari disguised the shipments' end-users from U.S. companies by falsely telling them the items would be sent to unrelated companies in the United Arab Emirates or Belgium. They also allegedly used a “spoofed” email address, containing a misspelled version of the UAE company's name, to "communicate regarding the procurement of parts, including parts manufactured by U.S. companies."
Amidi and Akbari also used multiple shell companies to pay for the drone parts to hide the true destination and identities of the sanctioned end users, including Iran-based Qods Aviation Industries and the IRGC, DOJ said. They also used aliases to hide their identities.
Along with shipping parts to Iran, they also provided "material support" to the IRGC by helping to construct military shelters, provide cameras and drone field hangers, and "conspiring to procure drone parts as well as parts to operate drones, including servo motors, pneumatic masts, and engines, for the benefit of the IRGC’s military campaign," DOJ said. The agency said the head of the IRGC Aerospace Force's drone command sent a written thank you message to Rah Roshd "for its work on behalf of the IRGC" and praised Rah Roshd’s "achievements in designing and manufacturing 'servo motors' for defense equipment." The letter also included a quote from the Supreme Leader of Iran.
Both Akbari and Amidi remain at large.