A former employee of L-3 Communications’ Space and Navigation Division was recently sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for exporting U.S. technology to China. Sixing Liu, 49, (aka “Steve Liu”) of Flanders, New Jersey, was convicted on nine counts, which range from lying to federal agents to six counts of International Traffic in Arms…
Recent stories here and here (and just about everywhere else) are pointing to an ongoing investigation, recently trumpeted by two Congressmen, which claims that NASA may have been involved in illegal exports of sensitive technologies to China. The basic allegations of the investigation are that individuals from NASA’s AMES Research Center conducted illegal transfers of…
A recent story in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune describes a raid conducted by law enforcement agents of a local warehouse owned by a multimillion-dollar package forwarding company named MyUS.com. The article provides few details on the raid, other than to say this is part of an active investigation related to “export enforcement.” It also quotes the…
Here’s a quick test. Select a random employee and ask him or her: “What does ITAR stand for?” Do they remember? Do they stutter while answering? Or do they just give you a funny look and walk away? Of course, your employees need to know much more than this simple question. (But hey, I told…
Joseph Debose, 30, – a resident of North Carolina and former Staff Sergeant with a U.S. Special Forces National Guard Unit – faces up to 20 years imprisonment for the illegal export of firearms to China. The government has charged Debose with making multiple shipments of semiautomatic handguns, rifles and shotguns to customers in China….
Ever heard of the BIS Entity List? More importantly, are you screening your transactions against this and other U.S. government watch lists? If you’re like most companies that we talk to, the answer to both of these questions is: “No.” In fact, it’s safe to say that many – and perhaps even most – companies…
Yesterday it was announced that United Technologies (UTC) and two of its subsidiaries – Pratt & Whitney Canada and Hamilton Sundstrand – have entered into a consent agreement with the U.S. Department of State. The companies will pay $75 million in ITAR violation penalties, to settle a total of 576 separate charges alleging wrongdoing. According…
The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) recently settled with Mattson Technology of Fremont, CA, in a case which alleges 47 EAR violations from 2006 to 2008. According to the order from BIS, Mattson “sold, transferred or otherwise serviced” pressure transducers “with knowledge that violations of the Regulations were about to occur or were…
Less than two months after they were added to the Excluded Party List System (EPLS), it now appears that the last of the freight forwarders have been removed from the EPLS – paving the way for a return to “business as usual” for exporters who were being restricted from certain trade activities involving these forwarders…
An Australian man and his company have been charged with several counts of violating the EAR and ITAR (as well as OFAC trade embargoes). The charges point to an alleged scheme to export restricted items from the U.S. to Australia, for transshipment to Iran, in violation of numerous export control regulations. According to the Department…