On November 20, 2012, Immigration and Customers Enforcement (ICE) reported that Amin Ravan of Iran was charged for conspiring to defraud the United States, smuggling, and violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).  He unlawfully exported 55 military antennas from the United States to Singapore and Hong Kong with intentions of bringing the antennas back to Iran.  

The United States is currently trying to extradite Ravan from Malaysia for a trial in Washington.  He faces up to 20 years in prison for violating the AECA, 10 years in prison for smuggling, and five years in prison for conspiracy.  

The indictment alleges that Ravan tried to export military antennas from a company in Massachusetts from 2006 to 2007.  Ravan was denied the purchase at first, but he soon worked with two co-defendants at a company called Corezing in Singapore.  The defendants worked in a way that would deter transactional delays enforced by the Iran embargo.  The antennas were eventually exported to Corezing in Singapore and Hong Kong in July and September of 2007.  The antennas were purchased for $86,750.  

Lim Kow Seng (Eric Lim) and Hia Soo Gan Benson (Benson Hia) are the co-defendants.  The co-defendants were charged in a separate indictment for exporting the military antennas to Singapore and Hong Kong, and the United States is currently seeking their extradition from Singapore.  

Ravan, Seng, or Benson never received a license from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.  The licenses were required to export the antennas from the United States to either country.  

The investigation was led by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Boston, the FBI in Minneapolis, and the Office of Export Enforcement under the Department of Commerce in Chicago and Boston.  Assistance was provided by the Department of Defense, Customs and Border Protection, the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, and the Justice Department.  

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement