Aerospace-Grade Carbon Fiber to China

On December 10, 2013, Ming Suan Zhang, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, was sentenced in the Eastern District of New York to 57 months incarceration. Previously, on August 19, 2013, Zhang pleaded guilty to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by attempting to export massive quantities of aerospace-grade carbon fiber from the United States to China. On September 26, 2012, a criminal complaint was unsealed in the Eastern District of New York charging Ming Suan Zhang with attempting to illegally export thousands of pounds of aerospace-grade carbon fiber from the United States to China. According to the complaint, Zhang was arrested in the United States after trying to negotiate a deal to acquire the specialized carbon fiber, a high-tech material used frequently in the military, defense and aerospace industries, and which is therefore closely regulated by the U.S. Department of Commerce to combat nuclear proliferation and terrorism. The complaint alleges that Zhang came to the attention of federal authorities after two Taiwanese accomplices attempted to locate large quantities of the specialized carbon fiber via remote internet contacts. In July 2012, Zhang allegedly told an accomplice: “When I place the order, I place one to two tons. However, the first shipment will be for 100 kg [kilograms].” Shortly thereafter, Zhang contacted an undercover law enforcement agent in an effort to finalize the deal to export the carbon fiber from New York to China. In one recorded conversation, Zhang stated that he had an urgent need for the carbon fiber in connection with the scheduled test flight of a Chinese fighter plane. Zhang then arranged a meeting with an undercover agent to take possession of a carbon fiber sample, which was to be shipped to China and analyzed to verify its authenticity. Zhang was subsequently placed under arrest. This investigation was conducted by ICE and BIS.