A 44-year-old Iranian man was extradited to the United States last week for allegedly violating sanctions by smuggling goods and he appeared in court on Monday (April 20) at the U.S. District Court in Seattle.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice website, the man’s name is Reza Dindar, also known as Renda Dindar, and he faces nine charges related to sanctions violations. Dindar was indicted by a grand jury in August 2014 and was arrested by Panamanian authorities last July as requested by the U.S. government.
During his initial court appearance at the district court, the indictment was made public. Prosecutors revealed that the conspiracy group members used a third country – China – to transport goods to evade export restrictions, which was discovered by law enforcement agencies and led to the indictment by the grand jury.
The indictment stated that the offenders violated the executive order signed by the U.S. President in March 1995 and the 2001 re-imposed sanctions on goods, technology, and services exports to Iran. From 2010 to 2014, Dindar operated a company named “New Port Sourcing Solutions” in Xi’an, China, hiding the fact that he was purchasing goods for Iranian companies in the U.S. and falsely claiming that the goods’ destination was China.
The indictment detailed that in 2011 and 2012, Dindar and his accomplices deceived a company in the western district of Washington state to purchase three sets of military sonar system components, falsely claiming it was for a Chinese company while the actual final destination was Iran.
David Peters, Deputy Assistant Director for Export Enforcement at the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security, stated that the indictment and extradition demonstrate the bureau’s commitment to enforcing export control laws.
Eddy Wang, Head of the Los Angeles Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), expressed that the offender’s actions posed a threat to U.S. national security and HSI agents, along with U.S. and international law enforcement partners, successfully prosecuted the offender.
Dindar is charged with conspiracy, two counts of violating export sanctions, two counts of smuggling goods from the U.S., two counts of money laundering, and two counts of submitting false export records. If convicted, Dindar could face up to 20 years in prison.
The case was jointly investigated by the Export Enforcement Office of the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security and the Homeland Security Investigations, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg handling the prosecution. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs collaborated with the Panamanian government to facilitate Dindar’s arrest and extradition. The Diplomatic Security Service of the U.S. Department of State also provided essential assistance.