Five people and four companies with which they are associated have been charged in a conspiracy to illegally ship radio equipment to Iran, from which some of the devices were sent to Iraq to be used in improvised explosive devices, the infamous “IEDs” that have killed and maimed American soldiers, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.
The authorities in Singapore have arrested Wong Yuh Lan, Lim Yong Nam, Lim Kow Seng and Hia Soo Gan Benson, all citizens of Singapore, in connection with a U.S. request for extradition to stand trial in the District of Columbia, the DOJ said. The remaining individual defendant, Hossein Larijani, is a citizen and resident of Iran who remains at large.
The indictment, returned in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 15, 2010, and unsealed on Tuesday, includes charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, smuggling, illegal export of goods from the United States to Iran, illegal export of defense articles from the United States, false statements and obstruction of justice, the DOJ said.
“Today’s charges allege that the defendants conspired to defraud the United States and defeat our export controls by sending U.S.-origin components to Iran rather than to their stated final destination of Singapore,” said Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “Ultimately, several of these components were found in unexploded improvised explosive devices in Iraq.”
The U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, David Adelman, praised the cooperation within the U.S. executive branch agencies and with the Singaporean authorities. “Twenty-first century law enforcement is most effective when countries work collaboratively as evidenced by this strong, cooperative effort between the U.S. and Singapore,” he said.
