Extradited Iranian National Faces Federal Charges Under Iranian Trade Embargo
Merdad Ansar, an Iranian citizen and resident of the United Arab Emirates, was extradited from Georgia to the United States this week to face federal charges in connection with a scheme to obtain military sensitive parts for Iran in violation of the Iranian Trade Embargo. Ansar and his codefendant were charged in a federal grand jury indictment returned in June 2012 with conspiracy to violate the Iranian Transactions Regulations (ITR), conspiracy to launder money, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to a Department of Justice release, Ansar and Mehrdad Foomanie obtained or attempted to obtain from companies worldwide over 105,000 parts valued at approximately $2,630,800 in more than 1,250 transactions. Ansar and Foomanie conducted 599 transactions with 63 different U.S. companies where they obtained or attempted to obtain parts from U.S. companies without notifying the U.S. companies these parts were being shipped to Iran or getting the required U.S. government license to ship these parts to Iran.
The parts Ansar and his co-defendants sought had both military and civilian capabilities and could be used in systems relating to nuclear weapons, missile guidance and development, secure tactical radio communications, offensive electronic warfare, military electronic countermeasures (radio jamming), and radar warning and surveillance systems.
A third co-defendant, Susan Yip, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for brokering these deals with Ansar and Foomanie.
Neither Yip, Foomanie, nor Ansari ever applied for or received either a required U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) license or Department of Commerce export license to ship any item listed in this Indictment to the Republic of Iran.
The Iranian Transactions Regulations, renamed the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations in October 2012, prohibit, among other things, the exportation, re-exportation, sale or supply, directly or indirectly, to Iran or the Government of Iran, of any goods, technology or services from the U.S. or by a U.S. person. The embargo also prohibits any transaction by any U.S. person or within the U.S. that evades or avoids, or has the purpose of evading or avoiding, any prohibition set forth in the Executive Orders.
“The FBI greatly appreciates the collaborative efforts and unwavering support from the Georgian Government and our federal partners. Together, over several years, we relentlessly pursued every lead to ensure that Ansari would eventually face the charges detailed in the indictment,” stated FBI San Antonio Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs. “Investigating criminal violations of U.S. trade embargoes is one of the FBI's highest priorities since this criminal activity affects the national security of the United States and our allies, especially the security of our troops abroad.”
Upon conviction, Foomanie and Ansari face up to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to violate the ITR, up to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to launder money and up to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
Foomanie remains a fugitive in this case.