Carbon Fiber and Other Materials to Iran and China

On November 26, 2013, Peter Gromacki, a U.S. citizen and resident of Orange County, NY, was sentenced in the Southern District of New York to 3 months imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release, a $300 special assessment, and a fine of $5,000. The defendant also received an Order of Forfeiture/Money Judgment in the amount of $135,913.68. Previously, on July 30, 2013, Gromacki pleaded guilty to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by using his NY company to illegally export carbon fiber (which has nuclear applications in uranium enrichment as well applications in missiles) from the United States to China. According to the indictment, in June 2007, Gromacki arranged for the illegal export of more than 6,000 pounds of carbon fiber from the U.S. to Belgium, which was then shipped to China. He allegedly made a variety of false statements on shipper’s export declaration forms. On July 10, 2013, Amir Abbas Tamimi, an Iranian citizen, pleaded guilty to violating IEEPA by working to export helicopter component parts from the U.S. to Iran, via South Korea. The components were for a particular type of helicopter that can be used for military purposes. On July 1, 2013, Hamid Reza Hashemi, an Iranian national, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate and violating IEEPA by working to arrange the illegal export of carbon fiber from the U.S. to Hashemi’s company in Iran via Europe and the United Arab Emirates. Previously, on December 5, 2012, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York unsealed charges against Gromacki, Tamimi, and Hashemi and Murat Taskiran, a Turkish citizen, for exporting various goods to Iran and to China, including carbon fiber and helicopter components. Hashemi and Taskiran were charged in one indictment. Taskiran remains a fugitive. None of the defendants obtained the requisite approval from the Department of Treasury for such exports. This investigation was conducted by the FBI, ICE, and Department of Commerce.