Like many trade compliance professionals, I go out and peruse various trade compliance newsletters, the U.S. government agencies websites, and other media to keep up-to-date on compliance issues. Recently, my attention was caught by a case involving Darling Industries of Tucson, Arizona. A closer look at Empowered Officials On February 28, 2019, the Directorate of…
Last week, FLIR Systems, Inc. entered into a Consent Agreement with Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”) to settle allegations of violations of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”). There were 347 alleged violations cited in the Proposed Charging Letter. These violations included 219 counts of unauthorized exports to Foreign-Person employees;…
Earlier this month, DDTC published a new Consent Agreement with Bright Lights USA, Inc. of Barrington, New Jersey. This agreement alleges a variety of different ITAR violations, including technical data exports and failure to keep adequate records. Are these problems sufficiently addressed in your company’s export compliance program? As always, it’s important to take note,…
We all know that OFAC can impose civil penalties against any person who exports goods to a third party, when that person has reason to believe the goods are destined for Iran. But how far does OFAC have to go to prove that the goods were actually reexported to Iran? A recent decision by the…
Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporations, (“ZTE”), and its subsidiaries and affiliates entered into a settlement with three U.S. government agencies covering civil and criminal charges filed against the company. The proposed $1.9 billion settlement closes a five-year investigation into ZTE’s exporting and reexporting activities, whereby roughly $40 million of U.S.-origin goods passed through China to companies…
Access USA Shipping, LLC, of Sarasota, Florida, recently entered into a $27 million agreement with BIS to settle allegations that it violated the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The company, which does business under the name MyUS, provides package forwarding and consolidation services for foreign buyers. Regular readers of this blog will know this is not…
On 20 December 2016, in the Federal District of Connecticut, JIANG YAN, 34, of Shenzhen China was sentenced to time served (12 months imprisonment) for attempting to purchase and export to China without a required export authorization for certain sophisticated integrated circuits used in military satellites and missiles. Additionally, for conspiring to sell counterfeits of…
Yu Long, a Chinese citizen and former employee of the United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) pleaded guilty to the export and the attempted export of defense articles from the U.S. in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. The maximum possible sentence Long can serve is 20 years. Long, who was a legal resident in…
The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) recently issued administrative settlement documents against a company called Fulfill Your Packages (“FYP”). Under the settlement agreement, FYP agreed to pay a $250,000 fine, of which $190,000 was suspended on the condition that the company has no export violations over the next two years. According to the…
For any industry, the “cost of doing business” inevitably increases over time. For companies engaged in ITAR-controlled work, the cost of not doing business compliantly is about to skyrocket. DDTC has announced that, effective August 1, 2016, the maximum amount that can be levied as a Civil Monetary Penalty will change. Most notably, for each…