An American Woman Charged with Connection to Aircraft Parts Smuggling Network to Iran

On Thursday, April 25, U.S. federal prosecutors charged a woman in New Jersey for collaborating with a smuggling network that trafficked aircraft parts from the U.S. to Iran. According to the Associated Press, this network has smuggled over $2 billion worth of aircraft parts from the U.S. to Iran. Joyce Eliabachus was arrested on Tuesday at her home in Morristown, New Jersey. She appeared in court on Wednesday and was released on a $100,000 bail under house arrest. The Associated Press reports that the 55-year-old Eliabachus faces three charges. Federal prosecutors say this American woman, who was the manager and operator of an aircraft accessories business working from her home, is accused of collaborating with a complex network that secretly purchased large quantities of aircraft parts from American companies and transferred them to Iran via the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Last year, the U.S. suspended the export privileges of a Turkish company and three other affiliated companies for selling American aircraft parts to Iranian airlines. The U.S. Department of Commerce stated that Golnahal Yeganeh, a Turkish national, established several shell companies on behalf of the Iranian airline 'Mahan' to purchase certain aviation equipment from the United States. Mahan Airlines is under U.S. sanctions for 'transferring weapons and military personnel to Syria.'