A Canadian-based Iranian national was charged on Friday in connection to an illegal scheme to purchase and export controlled laboratory equipment to Iran, the Justice Department announced.
Reza Sarhangpour Kafrani, a 46-year-old Montreal resident, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on multiple counts, including two alleged violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which authorizes the president to regulate international commerce under certain national emergency conditions.
Kafrani and an unidentified co-conspirator began negotiating with an American company in November 2015 for the purpose of purchasing spectrometry equipment to import into Canada through a company called Prolife Global, Ltd. that they owned together, according to court documents.
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During the negotiation process, Kafrani asked what it would cost to ship and install the equipment to the Middle East, to which a representative responded via email, “You know there are sanctions in place for Iran,” and the deal fell through, the Friday statement said.
Kafrani ultimately purchased three mass spectrometers and an autosampler (equipment that is controlled for nuclear nonproliferation purposes, according to the Justice Department) from another U.S. company for a total of approximately $110,739.
The two co-conspirators then arranged for the equipment to be shipped to Canada and then hired a Canadian company to export the equipment to the United Arab Emirates. They subsequently hired a UAE-based company to ship the equipment to Iran — all without proper licensure to do so under U.S. law.
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Along with the two IEEPA counts, Kafrani faces one count of conspiracy, one count of causing a failure to submit export information, and six counts of money laundering, the Justice Department added.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum of five years in prison for conspiracy and failing to submit export information, and the maximum penalty of the IEEPA and money laundering charges is 20 years in prison.
