A man with dual U.S. and Iranian citizenship was arrested in Chicago on Friday on charges of selling technology to the Iranian government.
Kambiz Attar Kashani, 44, is accused of selling software and electronic equipment to the Central Bank of Iran through front businesses in the United Arab Emirates, the Department of Justice said Tuesday. The U.S. government classifies the CBI as a threat to national security due to its ties to terrorist groups.
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“As alleged, Kashani orchestrated an elaborate scheme to evade U.S. export laws and use the U.S. financial system in procuring U.S. electronic equipment and technology for the CBI, which has been designated by the United States government as acting for or on behalf of terrorist organizations,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York.
The CBI has in the past supported Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist organization, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which “is a branch of the Iranian armed forces and represents the primary means of the Government of Iran to direct and implement its global terrorism campaign,” according to the DOJ.
“Technology illegally transferred to Iran from the United States could be used by terrorists, which is why the FBI and its partners devote significant resources to these investigations,” said Assistant Director Alan Kohler of the FBI’s counterintelligence division.
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The federal charges were filed in New York, and Kashani will appear for an initial hearing Tuesday in the Northern District of Illinois, where he was arrested, officials said. He faces up to 20 years in jail and a $1 million fine if convicted.
Trade with Iran is heavily restricted by U.S. and international sanctions due to the Middle Eastern country’s terrorist ties and nuclear ambitions.
