Justice Department Indicts several members of an Iranian procurement network for their efforts to acquire sophisticated military technology

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued indictments charging multiple defendants with violations of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) for schemes to procure and export U.S. technology to Iran .

United States v. Paidar, et al.

According to one indictment,, defendants Amanallah Paidar, of Iran, and Murat Bükey, of Turkey, conspired to procure and export U.S. technology for Iran through their companies Farazan Industrial Engineering, in Iran, and Ozon Spor Ve Hobbi Ürünleri, in Turkey. Specifically, Paidar and Bükey exported from the United States and transshipped through Turkey a device that can test the efficacy and power of fuel cells and attempted to obtain a bio-detection system that has application in weapons of mass destruction (WMD) research and use.

Bükey, who was extradited to the United States from Spain in July 2022, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the AECA and IEEPA in December 2022. He was sentenced on March 20 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to 28 months in prison, with credit for time served. He will be removed from the United States after completing his sentence. Paidar is a fugitive and remains at large.

United States v. Mahmoudi, et al.

Defendants Agshar Mahmoudi, of Iran; Bahram Mahmoudi Mahmoud Alilou, of Iran; and Shahin Golshani, of the United Arab Emirates (UAE); conspired to obtain U.S. technology, including a high-speed camera that has known nuclear and ballistic missile testing applications, a nose landing gear assembly for an F-5 fighter jet, and a meteorological sensor system, through their companies Aran Modern Devices Kish Company, in Iran; and Modern Technologies, in the UAE. The defendants are fugitives and remain at large.

The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry, Office of Export Enforcement are investigating these cases.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tejpal S. Chawla for the District of Columbia and Senior Trial Attorney Heather Schmidt of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting these cases, with support from Paralegal Specialist Michael Watts and Mariela Andrade. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs substantially assisted in securing Bükey’s arrest and extradition.

Jeffrey Newman is a whistleblower lawyer who handles cases in the SEC whistleblower program as well as under the False Claims Act. He can be reached at 617-823-3217 or at JeffNewman@JeffNewmanLaw.com