Swiss War Materiel and Arms Exports

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US engine parts for Iran via Geneva

Goods category: Swiss goods-list position not established; military engine parts under US export law.

Ali Khamenei, Nowruz address, 20.03.2017 according to the file page.

CC BY 4.0

Geneva-based Texam Holding, owned by Mehrad Banimostafavi, also known as Michael Bani, procured military aircraft parts from Siraj International in Wisconsin for Iran. On 20 June 1997, US Customs seized a shipment intended for Texam containing parts for TF-30 military engines at JFK Airport. In 1999, Siraj sales manager Randy Reyes was convicted over the unauthorised June shipment and sentenced to 41 months in prison; the appeals court upheld this on 7 November 2001. Reyes was acquitted of charges concerning two earlier shipments and conspiracy. Siraj itself, however, also pleaded guilty to the earlier delivery offences. Banimostafavi had been indicted but was outside US jurisdiction; no conviction against him is documented in this judgment.

Effect of the proposed War Materiel Act revision

Under the new Article 22b, the Federal Council could depart from all the licensing criteria in Article 22a under vaguely defined ‘exceptional circumstances’. The public would not have to be informed. The Federal Council could add Iran to Annex 2 by amending the War Materiel Ordinance. This would remove the exclusion criterion based on participation in an armed conflict and make approval the rule. The Federal Council could refuse a licence only in exceptional cases. Article 18 paragraph 1 would abolish non-re-export declarations in the vast majority of cases. Weapons for Iran could thus easily be supplied through a subsidiary or intermediary in a third country.

Countries

Companies

Time period

1997; US judgments in 1999 and 2001

Sources