Pat Dollard | Young Americans

BUSTED! Not only the companies involved but Iran. Need more proof now Dems?

UPDATE:

South Floridians Indicted On Weapons Sale To Iran

U.S. Says Electronic Parts Shipped By South Floridians Were Used To Make Roadside Bombs Planted By Anti-U.S. Forces In Iraq
Improvised-Explosive Devices Have Killed 1,722 U.S. Troops In Iraq Since March 2003

MIAMI (CBS4) ― Electronic equipment sold to Iran which could make explosives and improvised explosive devices used in Iraq against U.S. soldiers were sold by South Floridians, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District, on Wednesday.

A federal grand jury in Miami, FL, has returned an indictment charging eight individuals and eight corporations in connection with their participation in conspiracies to export U.S.-manufactured commodities to prohibited entities and to Iran.

The U.S. government claims the goods were used to make roadside bombs planted by anti-U.S. forces in Iraq.

The indictment stems from an undercover investigation, headed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, that exposed a ring selling U.S.-made ”dual use” goods to Iran, in violation of a U.S. prohibition on such sales to that country, officials said.

The goods are called “dual-use” because they are considered technologies that have commercial application, but could also be used to further the military or nuclear potential of other nations and could be detrimental to the foreign policy or national security of the United States.

The indictment, issued on 11 September of this year, but revealed today, alleges that the defendants exported 120 field-programmable gate arrays, more than 5000 integrated circuits of varying types, approximately 345 Global Positioning Systems (”GPS”), 12,000 Microchip brand micro-controllers, and a field communicator. All of these items have potential military applications, including as components in the construction of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The charges are the result of an inter-agency investigation into the use of U.S.-made goods in the construction of IEDs and other explosive devices used against Coalition Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Charged in indictment are:

Ali Akbar Yahya, an Iranian national and naturalized British citizen; F.N. Yaghmaei, a/k/a ” Farrokh Nia Yaghmaei,” an Iranian national; Mayrow General Trading, Atlinx Electronics, Micatic General Trading, Madjico Micro Electronics, a/k/a “MME,” and Al-Faris, all Dubai-based businesses; Neda Industrial Group, an Iran-based business; Bahman Ghandi, a/k/a “Brian Ghandi,” an Iranian national; Farshid Gillardian, a/k/a “Isaac Gillardian,” a/k/a “Isaac Gill,” an Iranian national and a naturalized British citizen; Kaam Chee Mun, a/k/a “Brian Kaam,” a resident of Malaysia; Djamshid Nezhad, a/k/a “Reza,” a resident of Germany; Ahmad Rahzad, a/k/a “Saeb Karim,” an Iranian national; Majid Seif, a/k/a “Mark Ong,”a/k/a “Matti Chong,” an Iranian national residing in Malaysia; and Eco Biochem Sdn BHD and Vast Solution Sdn BHD, Malaysian businesses. The defendants are charged with purchasing and causing the export of U.S. goods to Iran through middle countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, England, Germany, and Singapore.
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September 17, 2008

Miami Herald

Federal officials announced Wednesday the indictment in Miami of more than a dozen individuals and companies on charges of illegally exporting electronic parts to Iran and other countries for producing explosives.

The goods were used to make roadside bombs planted by anti-U.S. forces in Iraq, federal officials said.

The bombs, known as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, have been a major cause of death and injuries to U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq.

The indictment stems from an undercover investigation, headed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, that exposed a ring selling U.S.-made ”dual use” goods to Iran, in violation of a U.S. prohibition on such sales to that country, officials said.

Dual use goods are software and technology products that are used for both civil and military purposes.

No arrests are expected because the defendants are at large outside the United States.

A news conference is scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday in Miami. Expected at the news conference are U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta along with officials from the Treasury, Commerce and Defense departments, as well as ICE.

The indictment highlights what officials say are major national security issues — not only the illegal pipeline of electronic parts from the United States to Iran, but also Iran’s support of the Iraqi opposition.

Improvised-explosive devices have killed 1,722 U.S. troops in Iraq, out of 4,159 U.S. troop deaths since the Iraq invasion began in March 2003, according to icasualties.org, an independent website that compiles data from the Department of Defense.

Miami Herald staff writer Evan S. Benn contributed to this report.

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Other Recent South Florida arms-exporting cases include:

• Airplane parts: In June, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami charged a Broward County man with conspiring to export military aircraft parts to Iran.

Traian Bujduveanu, 53, faces up to 20 years in prison and $1 million in fines if convicted of violating the U.S. Arms Export Control Act and the U.S.-Iran trade embargo. He was born in Romania but is a naturalized U.S. citizen who for the past 30 years has lived in Plantation, where he cares for his blind mother, according to his attorney.

Bujduveanu has pleaded not guilty, along with a California man charged with the same counts. Both are scheduled for trial in March.

• Made-in-China munitions: In June, a federal indictment charged a 22-year-old Miami Beach businessman with conspiring to sell Chinese-made ammunitions to Afghanistan security forces.

Efraim Diveroli, president of AEY Inc., allegedly sent 35 shipments worth $10 million overseas and tried to pass them off as Albanian-made. But the munitions were from China, which violated Diveroli’s contract with the Pentagon, prosecutors said.

He faces more than 10 years in prison if convicted of intentionally misleading the U.S. government.

• Night-vision goggles: In May, a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale sentenced a woman to 29 months in prison after she pleaded guilty in a plot to send 3,000 U.S.-manufactured military night-vision goggles to Iran.

Shahrazad Mir Gholikhan, 30, later retracted the plea and now is scheduled for trial Oct. 14. She faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Her attorney contends Gholikhan thought the deal involved binoculars.

• Russian helicopters: A Hallandale Beach businessman was charged in April with trying to sell 10 Russian military helicopters equipped with guns, rockets and bombs to an undercover federal informant who told the dealer they were destined for Zimbabwe.

Military exports to the African country are banned.

Peter Spitz, 70, owner of Russian Aircraft Services LLC, was first contacted last March about a potential helicopter purchase by the informant for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

According to court records, the informant told Spitz he was interested in buying seven MI-24 Russian attack helicopters and three MI-8T Russian military transport helicopters.