Former Advisor to Iran's UN Mission Accepts Charges in US Federal Court

Ahmad Sheikhzadeh, a former advisor to Iran's mission at the United Nations, accepted charges on Monday regarding the submission of false tax statements and conspiracy to violate US sanctions against Iran. According to Reuters, 60-year-old Ahmad Sheikhzadeh accepted charges in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, related to planning to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and cooperating in providing tax statements containing false information. Steve Zissou, Sheikhzadeh's attorney, stated that his client has agreed not to appeal a maximum sentence of 5 years and 3 months in prison as part of a deal with prosecutors. The report indicates that Sheikhzadeh has also agreed to pay over $147,000. His sentencing is scheduled for March 30. Sheikhzadeh was temporarily released from Brooklyn jail on March 25 (5 Farvardin) on a $3 million cash bail and was under electronic monitoring as per court orders. The indictment emphasized that Sheikhzadeh did not inform the US Treasury Department about his business relations with Iran, thereby violating regulations concerning the control and restriction of economic relations between the two countries. According to prosecutors' documents, since 2008, he had been receiving cash monthly payments as an advisor to the Iranian delegation and saving this money in Citibank. Prosecutors also stated that Sheikhzadeh had reported his income to the IRS as being less than the actual amount from 2008 to 2012.